


I guess we’ll have to move forward

by Darkspirit



Series: A tiny, little, unexpected, unwanted change [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode Related, F/F, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Loss, Family Secrets, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Female Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Inspired by Fanfiction, Male-Female Friendship, Memory Loss, POV Alternating, Post-Episode: s01e51 The Return, Rescue Missions, Steven Universe Needs Therapy, Therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26455897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit
Summary: Jasper’s attack on the Beach House didn’t end up with her defeated, the arm ship destroyed and Steven and the Gems celebrating, but with heavy uncertainty and a family torn apart. Now, it’s up to the ones who are left to pick themselves up and keep moving.
Relationships: Amethyst & Connie Maheswaran, Amethyst & Garnet & Pearl & Steven Universe, Amethyst & Greg Universe, Amethyst & Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Peridot (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Steven Universe, Amethyst & Vidalia (Steven Universe), Amethyst/Peridot (Steven Universe), Bismuth & Greg Universe, Bismuth & Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Bismuth & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran & Greg Universe, Connie Maheswaran & Peridot, Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Vidalia, Lapis Lazuli & Connie Maheswaran, Lapis Lazuli & Greg Universe, Lapis Lazuli & Pearl (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Lapis Lazuli & Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Pearl (Steven Universe), Lion & Connie Maheswaran, Lion & Steven Universe, Pearl & Greg Universe, Peridot & Steven Universe, Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Series: A tiny, little, unexpected, unwanted change [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923157
Comments: 11
Kudos: 29





	1. Unconceivable

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is based in the one-shot In Another World from E350tb’s fanfic 100 Words A Day V: CN-pire Strikes Back. Credits to the author.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Amethyst deal with the worst scenario of all: loss.  
> Warning: panic attack, a bit of dissociation.

To say that Greg was surprised to see Amethyst coming to him and Steven was an understatement. In fact, it was a huge shock, but at least it had some positivity because it meant things were going right. They were, right?

Greg wanted to believe that, he really did. His relationship with the Crystal Gems might be strained and difficult after Rose’s pregnancy was revealed and Steven was born, but still, he cared about them. And also, he wished for that huge space ship shaped into an arm to disappear, it was giving him the creeps the more it stayed in the air.

Well, having Amethyst to catch up in what was going on would be a comfort, especially for Steven that was getting more and more restless after he told him what the gems his mother fought against did to the planet. Greg wondered why none of the Crystal Gems informed his Schtu-ball about this. Of course, the kid was too young to listen to those kinds of stories, but it was about Rose and her legacy and Steven was her son, though maybe it would’ve been better if everyone waited until he had 18 to be mentally prepared for that bomb of revelation.

Unfortunately, this cliché invasion to Earth that resembled many Greg had watched in sci-fi movies had to come to the picture, destroying the tenuous peace in their lives. For real, that’s why he had a lot of reservations about Steven dealing with gem stuff, and even if it was a part of who he was, his baby boy was eating more than he could chew.

Anyway, he just hoped the news Amethyst was going to give them were good ones.

“Amethyst!” Steven got out of the van in a snap, freaking Greg out, who had to stop the vehicle and ran to make sure the kid didn’t slip and get hurt.

The purple gem landed in her helicopter form and turned back to normal. She wasn’t smiling at all, even when Steven hugged her tightly which was worrying.

“Amethyst… Darnit, I need to take more exercise” Greg complained, panting. “Amethyst, what happened? Is everything going well with you three against that ship? Did you win?”

The little quartz didn’t respond at first, the man could see then the lines of concern in Steven’s face at her silence. However, what truly scared him was the balled fists of the gem, the slight trembling on her body, and her lower lip being bit. Oh, Jesus, she was at the brink of crying!

“Amethyst, are you--?” Steven couldn’t finish the sentence for the quartz looked both at him and Greg, trying with all her might to put on a brave face.

“T-They told me to join you, S-Ste-man. Said that you shouldn’t be al-lone, ya know? Hehehe… he… Yeah, so, he-here I am…”

Father and son glanced at each other, unsure if comfort the gem or ask about Garnet and Pearl. Amethyst didn’t give them time to decide, though, because she shook her head and smiled more easily, a shit-eating grin typical of her even when the sense of wrongness was still there.

“Hey, guys, relax! It’s fine! P and G can deal with this, their fusion is really strong. I bet you Sardonyx will send those space jerks back to their hole, crying like babies in no time”

Steven’s face then changed from worry to awe and what-the-what in no time, something that relieved Greg a little. The more the kid was distracted from this supernatural drama, the better. He even felt as if he was going to pass out any moment from the stress.

“Sardonyx? That’s Pearl and Garnet’s fusion?! Another giant woman?!” the boy’s eyes were filled with stars, Amethyst’s grin then became more open, fonder at the child while she nodded.

“Yep, dude. So, don’t cha worry about them. They have this battle at the palm of their hands”

 _‘Thank goodness’_ Greg thought, a part of him then wondered why being so dreadful about this. If Garnet and Pearl survived a war, thousands of years ago, then this invasion would be nothing. They were veterans, after all, they had a lot of experience. Yeah, things would be alright.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

Honestly, the man didn’t know what possessed him to give in to this insane idea.

He knew that both Steven and Amethyst were impatient for the battle to be over and for them to go back to the Beach House and check on Pearl and Garnet, but still! Staying in the middle of the road, near enough to see the arm ship and wait for it to return to space? It was beyond ridiculous!

Greg should’ve said no! Well, it was easier said than done when you face the invincible puppy eyes from your own kid, and Universe now was cursing at his soft heart that led him to say ‘Ok, Schtu-ball, we’ll stay. But don’t you dare to go back if you see or hear an explosion or something weird, alright? I want you here with me in the van, safe and sound’. The only good thing about this was that Amethyst supported him with stopping Steven if he tried to help Pearl and Garnet.

Some hours had passed, the clock was reaching the morning hours, and that space ship hadn’t moved yet! Some screams, trembles, and explosions happened where the Beach House was, Steven and Amethyst wrapped by trepidation and faith in their friends. And to make this weirder than it was, now there was a pink lion, his son’s magical pet, joining them in the waiting.

The townsfolks were many kilometers away from this mess, even when some people like Nanefua and Mr. Fryman talked to Greg about how dangerous Steven’s idea was and that they should join the caravan to ensure their safety. He couldn’t blame them for worrying and was grateful to have such caring neighbors, but still, his son wanted to know if, at the end of the battle, he might come back and see his other guardians again.

Losing loved ones in a war-like situation… That was a scenario he never expected nor wanted Schtu-ball to deal with. But again, Pearl and Garnet were really strong, capable, and mature. They would think of something and save the day, he just had to remain here with his kid and Amethyst and Lion and hope for the best.

He just had to wait.

///////////////////////////////////////////

“The spaceship is leaving!” Steven screamed at everyone and no one at the same time. A huge relief washed over him.

Finally, finally, darn it finally! He thought he would stay till dawn for that arm ship to leave his home, but luck was on his side at the end.

“Oh man, I can’t believe it! I was this close to going nuts with the wait” Amethyst complained but the stress and anxiety that were present when she came back to Steven and Greg were gone and her lips were forming a tentative, hopeful smile.

Too excited to wait for his dad to join them, the kid rode on Lion alongside Amethyst, and the big feline summoned a portal with its roar to get them to the Beach House in no time much to Greg’s vain attempts to stop them.

Their smiles and joy to meet with the others suddenly turned to shock and horror when they saw the house, or what remained of it. Almost everything was in ruins, half the face of the huge statue that held the house was destroyed and the same could be said for the house, many of Steven’s belongings were scattered on the sand and looked burnt, there were even pieces of the warp pad the Gems used to travel.

If someone came here right now, they would think a tornado made of huge hammers crossed paths with the Beach House and wreaked havoc.

Even though the scenery was nothing but horrific, it was the lack of familiar voices or movement they could recognize as Pearl’s or Garnet’s that really worried them. Amethyst climbed down from Lion and summoned her whip -no one was too prepared for the unexpected after all-, and approached the ruins slowly.

Steven watched from behind for some seconds until he followed her. The excitement had become into fear and confusion already, being so on edge wasn’t something he liked to feel, no matter the circumstances.

“Amethyst, what--?”

“Shhhh” the purple quartz interrupted him, the seriousness on her face was so rare to see “Not a sound, Steven. There might be a trap” Using her shapeshifting, she elongated her neck enough to inspect every corner outside the house in case the enemy was still there, hiding. However, nothing happened. The silence was their only host which was starting to get on her nerves.

The hybrid boy didn’t like this, not a single bit. Thinking about the worst-case scenario wasn’t his strong point nor his favorite hobby. He was known to be optimistic and positive, always seeing the good in every situation, not giving up. That was his strength. Now though, the vulnerability was all that coursed on his veins. There was no clue about what happened to the others and the quietness enveloping such chaotic mess they were in right now wasn’t helping either.

“W-Where are they?” he whispered. His eyes met Amethyst’s for a second, who looked away a bit and then glanced at him again, unsure of what to say.

“Let’s look for them, ok? Maybe they were poofed for exhaustion or they’re between all this junk” Steven’s pupils shrunk at the implication of one of them being poofed. He wasn’t that fond of the memory where Pearl was stabbed by one of her Holo-Pearls because he distracted her. That still gave him nightmares.

Without wasting time, both he and the quartz alongside Lion started searching for Pearl and Garnet. Amethyst sometimes had to stop the kid from entering the house because it didn’t look safe for him to inspect, so she had to go. Lion used his super strength and mega roars to move shambles here and there, smelled the essence of the missing gems, or helped Steven removing some heavy objects to make more space.

30 minutes passed and the mood between the three plummeted. Despair was getting a hold on Amethyst in those moments, her hair being grabbed and pulled aggressively by her own hands. Something here was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Completely fucked up! The arm ship had left, that would be good news, right? But then, where were Pearl and Garnet?

Hold on, no way, did the spaceship--?

“Guys!” Greg’s voice snapped her out of her train of thought. The man ran as fast as he could and stopped in front of Steven and Lion, gasping for air and stretching his back. Amethyst would make fun of him if she weren’t so anxious.

“Don’t do that again… Please” Universe swiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the others. A single glance at their concerned and desperate faces was signal enough of bad news. “What happened? Oh,” he observed the area, the ruins, the disaster, grimacing instantly “Oh sh—Wait, Pearl, Garnet? W-Where are they?

“We don’t know” Amethyst mumbled; her voice barely audible. “Heck, this—I don’t know what this is, and I don’t want to think about some very, very bad result of the battle! They should be here! Any of them! But no, they aren’t!”

“The ship left. Those other gems Lapis warned us about left, but Pearl and Garnet are missing” Steven caressed Lion’s mane to let out some tension and feel grounded “Were they ta—”

“Nope! No, no, no. Just no!” Amethyst didn’t want to venture to that territory, the mere idea of her friends, her family being—that was unacceptable “Look, we don’t know what happened after the ship left and before we came here. Maybe… Maybe they used the warp pad during an attack and those idiots—”

“Amethyst, language” Greg scolded her.

“They maybe have given up and gone back to space, hehe” rationalized the quartz with a forced smile. The other two weren’t too sure about that theory, but couldn’t object because the purple gem immediately transformed into a helicopter.

“P and G could be in another part of the world where there is a warp pad. We can go to the one on the side of the washer machine. Wanna come?”

 _‘Maybe she was right’_ Steven thought, hope trying to take over fear and dread. He looked at his dad with pleading eyes as if asking him if he wanted to join them, that and also because he didn’t want to be alone. Universe was a bit aghast at the silent, heartbreaking invitation; sure, gem stuff was something beyond his understanding but his son needed emotional support right now, that was the priority.

The man smiled encouragingly to the hybrid boy and nodded. Both got inside helicop-Amethyst who flew to the warp pad of one of the hands of the statue. Lion got there seconds later.

“What will be our first stop?” Steven asked. The little quartz thought about it for a moment.

“Let’s start with the Strawberry Field” and the warp pad sent them there.

////////////////////////////////////////////////

Coming back home after a mission would have been excellent if it weren’t for the dark realization that was getting settled in his mind. For someone so young, Steven was very perceptive in how others were acting, their reactions to certain things, their little antics to cope with…unpleasant events. Right now, though, he wanted to fall apart or even give his observant skills to someone else. Blissful ignorance was something he craved at these moments.

It had been hours, like 4 or 5, searching for Pearl and Garnet in every possible place and nothing. All the locations where they had their missions were empty. The Strawberry Field, zero. Mask Island where Steven, Lars, and Sadie were for camping, zero. The Prime Kindergarten, zero. The Lunar Sea Spire, wait no, it was in the bottom of the ocean so it wasn’t safe anymore. Anyway, they couldn’t find them.

Steven leaned into his dad’s left arm, trying to get comfortable but at the same time, gathering as much energy as he could to not fall asleep. His head was full of ideas and possibilities and worst-case scenarios, some were yelling and others were murmuring, it was exhausting.

Greg rubbed at his eyes tiredly, it was almost 10 o’clock and their search was a miserable failure. Just watching his son battling sleepiness and Amethyst glaring at the leveled house broke his heart. He wished he could say something reassuring to any of them, whatever to make a miracle come true to bring back the other two Crystal Gems, and yet again, he felt powerless.

He hated more than ever feeling like that. The man knew he wasn’t an expert in gem stuff, that department was for the Gems, it was part of Steven’s legacy left by Rose, but still, there were times when Universe felt that he should make more efforts in balancing the human and gem side of his son, in being more involved in his life. Of course, knowing how the Gem would react to the idea of him living with them and Steven put some obstacles in that resolve, but it was worth a shot, right? His Schtu-ball needed both sides of the family.

Then he wondered how that would’ve changed things like this mess, for example. Maybe it would’ve been the same or maybe it wouldn’t have, who knows. Still, the hopelessness and pain, so palpable that he could even touch them, were warnings strong enough for Greg to see that being on the sidelines wasn’t an option anymore. Gem stuff expert or not, Steven needed his father, a parent’s support. And Amethyst… It’s not that he didn’t trust her, but she wasn’t in the right headspace either, and gem or not, she was family too. Both his kid and the purple gem needed someone to lean on after…after experiencing this hell.

Slowly and carefully, Greg carried his boy on his arms and approached the quartz, inhaling deeply before talking to her.

“Hey, um, Amethyst…” Yeesh, this would be harder than he thought “Look, I don’t—” he sighed, better rip the band-aid quickly anyway “Amethyst, I don’t think they are here, on the planet to be exact, anymore. There is no sign of them in any of the places where you four went on adventures. The only answer left is that they were—”

“NO!” the quartz glared at him waking Steven up at the same time “Don’t you fucking dare to say that!”

“Amethyst, that is the only conclusion. The ship left and we couldn’t find Pearl and Garnet anywhere. They were abducted, defeated! We can’t just—”

“We CAN’T give up!”

That scream was enough to freeze both father and son. Steven was at the brink of tears already, within himself the realization of loss, the somber idea of not having two of his three guardians with him anymore was harsh, but now it was being confirmed by his dad and Amethyst’s denial.

There was no point in beating around the bush. Pearl and Garnet were gone. Gone. Forever.

 _‘They’re gone. They lost and now they’re gone’_. Suddenly, a tsunami of tears flooded his eyes and tiny sobs escaped from his mouth.

The kid felt as if the air was getting farther from his reach. Everything was blurring, the sound was turning into static, the world was crumbling.

Abduction. That was the word his dad used concerning Pearl and Garnet’s condition. That meant they are still alive, right? The ship only took them away… To Homeworld, where Lapis used to live. Where the gems she warned him about lived. But they would come back, wouldn’t they? Pearl and Garnet were Crystal Gems, and Crystal Gems always saved the day. They would find a way. They would, they had to. But what the Homeworld gems were going to do to them once they arrived? Put them in prison? Hurt them? Interrogate them? Ki--?

Cold, he was feeling so cold. Was he breathing? Dying? Why he couldn’t hear anything? Where were Dad and Amethyst and Lion? Were they abducted too?!

“Steven. Kiddo, calm down!” a male voice pleaded with him. It sounded so muffled, though.

His little hands trembled, opening and closing frenetically as if they were looking for something to grab, to ground him. Another pair of hands, bigger and a bit calloused enveloped him, rubbing circles on the back of them with their thumbs. The gentle touch got rid of the blackness tainting Steven’s vision and his shaking body started calming down as his breathing.

“That’s it, Schtu-ball, just breathe. In and out, count to three slowly”

Greg counted with him in every inhalation and exhalation until the kid was collected, more or less.

Steven’s eyes went to his father that was in front of him, kneeling. Lion was some meters away watching the scene, and Amethyst was behind Greg, guilty, and crestfallen.

“I’m sorry, Steven” she muttered, shrinking on her shoulders shamefully.

The hybrid wanted to comfort her but no words could get out. His throat hurt and felt dry as if he hadn’t drunk a single drop of water in years. Greg rubbed his eyes kindly, and sit at his side, hugging him with his right arm.

“Dad?” he could finally muster.

“Yeah, son?”

“W-What now?” his Dad opened and closed his mouth, lost on what’s next, because after what they had gone through, what was the next step?

The tears came back with a vengeance and Steven didn’t care about getting rid of them. He just hugged Dad with all his strength as if that could make things better or wake him from this nightmare. Amethyst, on her part, fell apart and sobbed, her fists clenched shaking uncontrollably, trying to remain strong in vain.

Greg was feeling compelled to cry and join them, but a part of his mind, the parental one, snapped at him: _‘Don’t you dare, you idiot! This is not the time! Steven needs you! Amethyst needs you! You can find a good place to crumble later, but now THEY are the priority! SO, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!’_

Caringly, the sunburned man approached the inconsolable quartz while carrying his child with his left arm. The gem stiffened for some seconds when she felt the right arm of her former human friend wrapped around her lovingly, rubbing his thumbs on her shoulder to offer comfort.

Clearing his throat, a bit, and despite this being a crazy idea in the worst time possible, Greg started to sing a lullaby:

_Remember me_

_Though I have to say goodbye_

_Remember me_

_Don’t let it make you cry_

_For ever if I’m far away_

_I hold you in my heart_

_I sing a secret song to you_

_Each night we are apart_

_Remember me though I have to travel far_

_Remember me_

_Each time you hear a sad guitar_

_Know that I’m with you_

_The only way that I can be_

_Until you’re in my arms again_

_Remember me_

He kept singing, even when his own tears fell and dampened the sand until Steven and Amethyst’s sobs turned into sleep.


	2. Drained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. Those are the five stages of grief. For Steven and what is left of his family, though, there is only one: utter, shitty exhaustion.

_‘Ganet! Ganet, loo wha I found!’ a chubby, bright-eyed kid ran as best as he could to the fusion while waving his tiny, right hand that was holding a reddish shell._

_‘Let me see’ the tall gem kneeled in front of the infant, her fingers traced the fragile object in his hand and a slight smile appeared in her face. ‘It’s beautiful’ she said simply._

_‘Fo you!’_

_‘For me?’ and she got as response a nod with a sweet grin._

_Steven’s curls are caressed gently by the fusion whose smile got a bit bigger as gratitude. ‘It’s very kind of you’_

_‘I aso found nother one fo Pearl!’ and the child showed her another shell, this one was a bit thin, cream color with some blue specks on it._

_‘She will love it. What if we show it to her?’_

_‘Yeah!’ the kid took her hand and trying to lace his chubby fingers with hers. Garnet chuckled a bit and did the same, walking slowly where the other Crystal Gem was. Pearl stopped looking at some blueprints and waved a hand to her leader and little Steven._

_The boy, without waiting, ran to her and hugged her tightly much to her surprise and awkwardness._

_‘Oh! Um, hello Steven… Having fun?’ she asked politely and unsure of what more to say._

_‘Here! I foun is fo you!’ Steven gave her the white-and-blue-speckled shell much to her surprise._

_‘Oh… This is really cute for you, Steven’_

_‘Yeah! It’s beutifu like you!’ Pearl’s sort of awkward smile got more genuine and ruffled the boy’s hair appreciatively._

_‘It is. Thank you’_

_‘Thank you, Steven’_

…

…

…

“I TOLD YOU, DEWEY, THEY’RE GONE!!”

Wait, what?

“Uh?” Steven opened his eyes; fatigue still present in his body. His head was on Amethyst lap, she was awake and Dad was livid at someone. Hold on, was that the Major?

“Ame… Wh-What’s going on?” the purple quartz looked at the kid melancholically and just pat his back, her gaze towards Greg and Dewey. The sound of more vehicles got rid of the sleepiness, making him get up albeit slowly.

“What are you talking about with they’re gone?” he heard Dewey say “Are you saying that that spaceship has--?” Greg shushed him harshly, not wanting the fight to escalate and agitate his son and Amethyst, though they knew already what the Major was figuring out.

“Look, this is a mess. My family is a mess and I don’t, really, really don’t want more questions or more attention of this kind that is necessary, ok? I just need some help. The house is in shambles, and Steven needs a good place to sleep. The rest I can tell you later”

The Major was going to say something else, but a single glare from Universe was enough to shut him up. He just nodded, though still unsure and wanting answers, and went back to his truck.

Greg sighed tiredly, massaging his temples. His mind was starting to see it, the front of the Beach House and he, Schtu-ball, and Amethyst in the principal images of a newspaper of some sensationalist news, which was worse than knowing that 2 members of the family were defeated in a brutal battle and taken away to God-knows-where to be God-knows-what. Though he wasn’t sure what could be worse at this point, Pearl and Garnet’s future on another planet that seemed really hostile or the fact that the rest of the family would be the center of attention despite craving a little rest.

“Dad?” Steven put his little hand on the beefy arm of the man, who jumped a bit for the surprise. His father glanced at him and put on a brave, optimistic face. Still, the kid could feel the tension coursing through the adult’s veins.

“That guy was giving ya trouble, dude?” Amethyst was some steps behind Steven, still feeling ashamed that her yelling from hours before has put a lot of emotional stress on the boy.

“Don’t worry, guys. He was just worried. Right now, though, we need some rest. **You two** need some rest. What if both go to the van and sleep a little, uh? I’ll make sure things are more bearable, ok?”

Sleep. What a beautiful luxury. Just closing his eyes, take a nap, and forget the nightmare that was still playing in his life, in this day. The only problem was that Steven was torn apart with this idea. One part of him, his body and mind to be exact, was pleading to not deal with the fact that the Beach House was destroyed and Pearl and Garnet were gone. The other part, though, was his conscience wanting to help and be useful, feeling like he should do something to make things better even if he didn’t know how to start.

“Can’t I help, Dad?” he asked. Dad’s eyes got more somber at this question, was it because he didn’t trust him with this mission? But no, Dad knew he could. Steven was a Crystal Gem. So, what was the point in being one if you didn’t help at all?

“Listen, kiddo” Dad kneeled before him “I know you want to make this better, but you’re young and you’ve been through a lot. You don’t deserve to burden yourself with this kind of stress… Um, yeesh, I don’t even know where to start but some good ideas will cross my mind. What you should do right now, though, is rest. Just let me take care of this and breathe, ok? Both of you” Universe looked at Amethyst who was uncharacteristically quiet and moody. The purple quartz just nodded a bit.

Again, his body, mind, and conscience were at war. He should rest, in fact, he wanted to, but watching his family falling apart was hateful. Hateful in the way that he couldn’t stand seeing them so sad and broken. _‘Dad says he can take care of this. I should trust him. Maybe I can make things easier this way’_ , it would work, right? Well, it was worth a shot.

“Ok,” he mumbled. As long as that can help in some way, he would do it.

////////////////////////////////////////

If there was a word that could describe Amethyst right now, that would be restless because she was.

Being on the van was just for Steven’s sake, the little man couldn’t be on his own and the gem still felt bad for making him cry. Still, staying in one place without nothing better to do than sleeping sounded so… She didn’t know how to describe it but it infuriated her anyway.

_‘I should’ve stayed with them and fight. What was I thinking?! If they were defeated even if becoming Sardonyx was an option, it means those space jerks were too strong to deal with on their own!’_ the pacing back and forth got more frantic and frustrated. “UGH!! Why I didn’t tell them to use Alexandrite?!” the yelling made her covered her mouth immediately, fearing that she has ruined Steven’s nap.

However, that didn’t wake him up but the sound of his cellphone. The name on the screen was Connie which took Amethyst by surprise and Steven too. Unfortunately, the kid wasn’t in the mood for talking, the heartbreak due to the loss, and the hours of sleep he lost by searching for the other Gems were heavy enough to ask with a sad and pleading face to the purple quartz to tell Connie what was going on.

Amethyst took the phone, unsure on how delivering the news, not that she disliked the girl, she thought the human kid was awesome and was happy that Connie and Steven were friends, but this kind of interaction was putting awkwardness to a whole new level. Whatever, the gem was done falling apart and not knowing what to do, this little distraction might help her for a change.

“Hello?” Yep, good start. Good start, if you weren’t able to feel the discomfort in the tone.

“Uuuhhh, hello? Who is it? I mean, sorry but your voice sounds familiar but I don’t remember it. So…”

“I’m Amethyst, Connie. One of Steven’s babysitters, caretakers, guardians. Your take. Short, purple skin, long, white hair, a gemstone in the chest”

“Oh! Yeah, I remember now. Hi, Amethyst! Is Steven there? I wanted to check on him and see if he’s ok” Oh shit, this would be such a long call. “Is everything alright?”

“N-Not that much. We are going through a lot. I—” a lump got stuck in the quartz throat and she pushed it down with all her might “It’s better if you give Ste-man some time. He needs it. But, maybe tomorrow you can talk to him. Right now, sleeping is the best he can get”

“Oh…” Connie wanted to protest. She was really worried and for the sound of Amethyst’s voice, the good news wasn’t the result of whatever happened in Beach City “Alright. I’ll call tomorrow, but please, take care of him, ok? I don’t know how but I have a bad feeling about this”

“You and me both, kid. You and me both. Take care you too, kay?”

“Yeah, take care, Amethyst. Goodbye” Amethyst bid the girl farewell and hung up.

“Hey, Amethyst!” a young man’s voice snapped her from the broody trance that she was more than willing to immerse herself into just to not keep feeling worse, but then a blonde teenager and a kid -Sour Cream and Onion- approached her, or more like Sour Cream did while Onion went to join Steven, even when the boy was sleeping again.

“Don’t worry. Onion will just give him company” Sour Cream assured the worried quartz. “So, uh, my mom is talking with Greg right now. She is worried about you guys and is asking him on how to help. The other neighbors are worried too”

“Being worried won’t change anything!” she whispered-yelled at him, her sorrow turning into anger and helplessness quickly “Being worried will just—”

“Hey, hey, just saying. Look, we can talk in a private place and you can yell and vent and even break some things for a while, but just so you know, we want to help. All of us, even if we don’t know what’s going on”

“I don’t know what is going on either” the purple quartz sniffed “But I can’t leave Steven here. What if he freaks out after finding I’m gone?”

“The place can be close enough for you to keep an eye on him. And Onion can help in cheer him up a little bit” Sour Cream then lent her a hand amicably which only resulted in the gem huffing as a way to agree.

//////////////////////////////////////

Waking up after 2 hours of sleep could’ve never happened if it weren’t for the fact that his own stomach was eating itself or having a strike against his lack of food. Still, Steven didn’t care too much about that but at the fact that Onion was playing with some of his toys at his side, inside of the van.

His eyes searched for Amethyst for an explanation and found her some meters away where the wreck and the ruins of the house and fusion statue were, talking very, very angrily at Sour Cream, so close to summon her whip to crash some rocks.

“Muh muh muh muh muh muh” Onion said in a tone that Steven struggled to understand at all.

“Uh, what?”

“Muh muh muh muh muh muh” the blonde boy repeated, laid-back.

“So, you wanted to keep me company?” Steven tried to guess and his little friend nodded “And Sour Cream wanted to talk with Amethyst and they are far away because I need some rest and quiet, right?” Onion again nodded and smiled a bit.

“Well, thanks for the company… How are you?” then, like a switch, the little child’s demeanor turned impassive, his stare boring holes into Steven’s, making him feel uncomfortable.

Then Onion approached him and pressed his left index finger in the hybrid’s chest lightly which confused him more.

“Did I do something?” again, Onion pressed his finger in his chest and stared at him impassively.

“IIIII don’t know what you mean by that” but the answer was the same, a finger pressing into his chest.

After the fifth time with that strange gesture, it was finally clear for Steven why Onion was doing and what he was saying by doing it which surprised him. “You wanna know how I’m doing?” the other kid changed his impassiveness for a smile, nodding.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t sleep that much… I’m tired” It was weird that it didn’t surprise the hybrid boy the fact that he wasn’t saying ‘I’m ok’ or ‘I’ll be fine, don’t worry’, fretting other people with his problems wasn’t something common for him; the opposite was what he usually did. Just bottling everything up and moving on to the next thing to do until he was too tired to continue and the next day came. Maybe it was his sleep-deprivation or the stinging pain of the loss that made him open up, even a bit.

“Muh muh muh muh muh” Onion nodded as if understanding what was happening.

“Y-You know…it’s…weird, hehe” Steven rubbed at his eyes after feeling the tears gathering on its corners “I used to…I-I used to play down when I was sad or upset so…so the Gems didn’t feel bad or worry about me and now… Now, I can’t even do that… I can’t do this right…”

“Muh muh muh muh. Muh muh muh muh muh” Even when Onion’s speech was anything but understandable, his concerned face and his hand on Steven’s let the hybrid know that he could vent with him, much to the boy’s huge relief.

Without thinking, Steven wrapped his arms around the other kid’s neck who was surprised for the gesture but didn’t mind it and returned the hug to give his friend all the comfort he craved. His white shirt was being dampened by the tears though that didn’t bother him either. Despite not being the most expressive child, emotionally speaking, Onion knew when to be a shoulder to lean on.

And right now, Steven needed that more than anything.

//////////////////////////////////

Night came although in a painfully slow pace. All the rubble from the house and the statue was removed securely by the townsfolk while Greg gathered all the belongings that weren’t affected by the attack. Thankfully, many of his son’s clothes and some of his toys could be saved, maybe that might give him some comfort. Or maybe not. Anyway, it was the first step.

“I don’t know how to thank you for this, Vidalia. Letting us rest in your home until the Beach House is fully repaired? You’re a saint”

“Saints don’t hold grudges against some money-obsessed asshole who knocks you up and then run away as if you being pregnant wasn’t a big deal. But thanks anyway. Besides, you helped me when I found out I was going to be a mom, so, why not returning the favor?”

Greg smiled gratefully while shaking his head, chuckling a little. This place was full of good and kind people, if there were more in the world, everything would be better.

His eyes directed to Steven who was eating in Vidalia’s living room silently with Peedee at his left side and Onion at his right one. Amethyst was sat on the floor, leaning on one extreme of the sofa, tear tracks on her cheeks.

Vi put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, perceptive enough towards the fatherly uncertainties that lingered but couldn’t get out, not without causing more heartache.

“Wanna get out and talk a bit?” she pointed to the front door and Greg, albeit insecure, accepted the offer.

Both sat at the stairs of the entrance, watching the starry sky. For Universe, the stars and galaxies and other bodies of space had brought him peace and even inspiration for a song, now though, sadness was the only thing he could feel by watching them, aware of where Pearl and Garnet were now.

“Vidalia, I don’t know what the hell to do” he confessed.

“Welcome to the club” she responded bitterly, not to him but to the situation that was hurting him and Amethyst and Steven.

“You know, my relationship with the Gems wasn’t the best after Rose passed away, especially mine and Pearl’s… Still… I wished things had gone differently. I’m lost, Vi. Amethyst is angry and grieving, and Schtu-ball... My poor boy is heartbroken. Devastated. Everyone is” he got rid of some tears before continuing “When Steven was born, he became one in a million. I mean, a half-human, half-gem kid, can you believe that? And no one knew what to do. I was the one who was more confused with everything that Steven was. He was a human, sure, but also a gem. How could I teach him gem stuff if I barely understand it? That’s why the Gems took care of him. Now two of them are in another planet, maybe jailed or…or worse. I always saw them as strong and very capable of certain things; I never expected… I never expected them to be defeated and taken away. Amethyst is the only one left and she is dealing with a lot right now, just like Steven. And I’m the only full human in the family that has to do something but I’m not a gem expert!”

“You don’t need to be that for your family now, Greg. Just be there for them”

“It’s not enough” the other lamented.

Vidalia just huffed as if that response were an excuse. “Fuck that, buddy. Look, your son won’t care if that is enough or not, Amethyst won’t care if that is enough or not, and guess what? You shouldn’t either”

“But what if the ones who were piloting that spaceship come back?! I don’t even have powers!”

“You don’t have to dig too deep into the future or whatever, Greg. I told you, be there for them. Right now, what your kid needs is not a superhero or a fairy, or a god to make some miracles happen. He just needs his father, even if you aren’t sure of what to do next. And about Amethyst? She ain’t a kid, but she deserves support too. Oh, and don’t forget yourself, that’s why I’m here. So, just be there for them. The rest can wait”

Greg didn’t say anything, but Vidalia could see the gears of his mind working, processing her speech, analyzing options. The man watched at the stars again, trying to find another emotion in their beauty that wasn’t pain or hopelessness. He sighed.

“Wanna know something? Am not the religious type, there aren’t many things I can put my total faith on, but at least, if God is listening, I only ask that He protect them. Pearl and Garnet… I want to believe in them too. Believe in the Crystal Gems, that was part of a song he sang to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl when he was younger. I want to have faith in them, that they will find a way to survive and come back home. Or if that is not possible, that Steven, Amethyst, and I will find a way to bring them back. Well, hehe, that sounds more impossible than the last one but everyone has the right to dream, right?”

“I think it’s more of a possibility if you consider they’re aliens, but yes. Dreaming of that happening is not a bad idea”

“Mmmmm, yeah. Thanks Vi, for listening”

The blonde woman just smiled at him while patting his back. Both kept watching the stars till the late hours of the night.


	3. Mission status: Do it for him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most unexpected alliances are forged at the most desperate times, Pearl makes a decision, and Lapis is trusted with information that could save someone very precious, but will she put her anger and issues aside or let her grudges cloud her judgment?

_20 minutes after the battle…_

You could say Sardonyx was a strong fusion, and sure she was.

Confident, observant, brave, collected, calculating, precise, and many other things.

You could also say that with a single hit of her hammer, any enemy that tried to defeat Sardonyx would be sent flying. So yeah, she was such a resourceful fusion, if you didn’t include a furious Jasper on the list of enemies to eliminate, of course.

According to Greek mythology, Achilles’s body was invulnerable to any kind of hit or damage, but the only part of the body that was still fragile was his heel, anyone would able to make him fall apart with a shot to that weak point.

Sardonyx’s situation was very similar to the hero’s because Jasper became her Achilles’ heel when the battle began, and Pearl couldn’t hate more than now that of all times it was that night the one for her to learn that unnecessary lesson.

Well, she wasn’t the only one. Ruby and Sapphire were as trapped as the veteran too.

Pearl gritted her teeth in seething anger and self-loathing. She couldn’t believe something like this was happening, not when they were so close to defeat Jasper as Sardonyx and sent her and that Peridot and Lapis Lazuli back to where they came from, but no! The Jasper wasn’t only adamant about being the winner but she also was a dirty player. I mean, who could’ve guessed that she was going to use a destabilizer as a surprise attack to defeat the fusion, right?

The veteran Crystal Gem just sighed and covered her face with her own knees miserably. She tried to look for the ‘bright side’ -if there was one, of course- in all this mess, but the more she put any effort into it, the more despair the gem felt.

 _‘Amethyst is safe, though. She is safe and with Steven’_ **both who she would never see again** _‘There are still people who can take care of Steven. Amethyst and Greg can’_ **but they would need more help** _‘Steven at least didn’t saw us being defeated’_ **he might have figured out they had been taken away already** _‘They will be ok’_ **Would they?**

“Can’t you just shut up?!” Lazuli’s voice broke her train of thought. Ruby was making such a scandal, yelling, hitting the ship’s prison walls, cursing nonstop.

“Make me!” the little gem snapped at the hydrokinetic gem who glared at the wall of her left. Pearl wondered what would happen if Jasper and Peridot had put Ruby and Lazuli in the same cell instead of different but consecutive ones. She laughed joylessly imagining her friend chasing the blue gem as a maniac, her whole body on flames.

“It would be really entertaining if that were possible” another voice opined. It was Sapphire. Fortunately, she wasn’t imprisoned in a cell very far away from Pearl’s and the others’, just to a consecutive one.

“Were you using future vision?” Pearl guessed making some light conversation could distract her from the magnitude of the situation.

“A bit. That and I was thinking the same as you. Ruby would surely chase Lapis Lazuli just to smack her head”

“Yeah…She would” a sigh followed after that “I’m sorry”

“For what?”

“For this. I thought Sardonyx would be strong enough but, it didn’t work”

“Not even I could be able to predict the outcome. We did our best. At least, the rest of the family is ok”

The veteran Gem thought about Steven, his smiles, his sweet kindness, his willingness to help people. She then remembered a time when the boy, at his four, drew a picture of him and her together on a sunny day and gave it to Pearl as a gift, a huge grin painted on his chubby face.

Maybe she would never see him again. Not him, not Amethyst, heck not even Greg, but still, the mere thought that he was very far away from danger, from Homeworld of all things was comforting enough to put her at ease. With that as a lifeline for her sanity, Pearl closed her eyes.

//////////////////////////////

Peridot wasn’t having a good day. She wished she really was though because, at this moment, her frustrations were as big as her anxiety of going back to Homeworld. Why? Because their mission was half-fulfilled, something that Jasper didn’t care at all.

“What the heck is the meaning of this, Jasper?!” she yelled at her escort, or should she call her cloddy excuse of muscles? Yeah, that.

“What are you talking about?” Jasper responded without turning to look at the technician. _‘Of course, the high and mighty champion of Homeworld thinks she is too good to be eye-to-eye with me. Such a clod’_ Peridot mused furiously.

“You know very well what, you dunce!” Jasper just glanced at her a bit before turning her back again. “We have a whole mission to fulfill and you decide to come back to Homeworld with incomplete tasks! What about checking on the fusion experiments? What about the Cluster?! Yellow Diamond told us to—”

“Maybe you’re braindead or they had your cuts or facets wrong but these rebels aren’t simple rebels. Haven’t you been put in history archive duty before this mission?” One of Peridot's eyes twitched at the way Jasper asked that question. How dared that mountain of brawn and raw strength act as if she knew the technician’s job better than her?!

“I’ll have you know I was the most proficient in that department after I emerged, so no, I don’t need your input on this, and yes, I know about the Rebellion on Earth”

“Then you should know, because you heard it from those defects, that both the defective Pearl and the fusion are Crystal Gems. And not only that, I bet they were close with _her_ ” Jasper spat the last word with such venom and hatred that made Peridot shiver due to the fear.

“Rose Quartz” she mumbled “Alright, I understand this is unprecedented because the Corruption Blast should’ve got rid of every gem present on the planet, but still! We have a mission; our enemies are defeated! We could’ve left them in the prison of the ship while taking care of the Cluster! I mean, it’s not that they have the resources to escape. Those cells can only be opened from the outside. Why not come back and finish the mission?”

“Because” and this time, Jasper turned around and approached the green gem who stepped back, intimidated “ **justice comes first. Always.** All this time they were alive, fooling us, fooling all Homeworld with the idea that we have destroyed them. Now, the tables have finally turned. This is our time to make them pay. I don’t care what punishment they’ll receive, as long as they face the consequences of their defective, rebellious minds and suffer. That’s it and that’s final!”

“But—”

“THAT’S IT AND THAT’S FINAL!!!” Jasper roared. Peridot just stepped back a bit more while smiling uncomfortably and nodding. Then she left the piloting room, her fear of being cracked by Jasper turning into annoyance, then resentment and then anger.

Take Jasper with you, Emerald said. A veteran is a better option than the Topaz twins, Emerald said. Aha, sure, better her goddamn butt! Not only Jasper was stubborn as a mule but she also let her anger take over the whole mission. Of course, she didn’t know how many missions she had been sent to; anyway, that didn’t matter.

Stars, she was going to get in so much trouble because of the most insufferable clod in the history of insufferable clods! Heck, compared to Jasper, Aquamarine was a sweetheart even when Peridot couldn’t stand her either!

Having the honor of fulfilling a high-level mission as this, given by Yellow Diamond, no less, was one thing, dealing with the wrath of her Diamond and maybe the other Diamonds was another history. And Peridot wasn’t ready to delve into that future, not now, not ever.

Well, at least the rebels would be getting the worst of the worst of a bad mood from the Homeworld matriarchs once they arrived.

Her feet took her to the cells where the rebels and Lazuli were imprisoned. She guessed that rubbing into their faces the fact that they were going to face the repercussions of their actions would be reward enough for her hard work and putting up with Jasper too.

The ambient was tense and hatred-filled. The Pearl turned around and sent her a glare, the Sapphire was quiet, Lapis Lazuli was on a corner very quiet too, only the Ruby had the energy to curse and punch the walls. Welp, this would be fun.

“Just so you know, no matter how many times you hit the walls, they won’t fall apart. They are specially made for—” Peridot couldn’t finish her sentence because Ruby, mad as a rabid beast, launched herself at the technician even when the door of the cell was made purely of destabilizing energy.

“AAAAHHHHHH!!! THAT HURTS!!” yelled the red gem who covered her burnt face.

“Ruby, be more careful. These doors can poof you!” Sapphire glanced at her lover worriedly. It was a miracle Ruby’s impulsiveness hasn’t got her cracked.

“Listen to the Sapphire, you clod. Unless you want to arrive at Homeworld in pieces” teased a slightly frightened but amused Peridot.

“FUCK YOU, PEEBLE!”

Peridot’s amusement turned into outrage at that insult. “Peeble? PEEBLE?! At least I’m smart enough to know playing rebel is idiotic! Trust me, when you are in front of the Diamonds, you’ll regret your traitorous acts!”

The Ruby just snarled hatefully and started pacing back and forth, her feet too hot, leaving footprints on the pristine green floor.

Silence again, the entertaining was over. The technician still decided to keep an eye on them while writing the report and recording new log dates, and maybe provoke the Ruby to see her poof herself when she touched the destabilizing door of her cell. Nyehehehe, hilarious.

“Log date 301: Peridot here, returning to Homeworld, against my will” the green gem grumbled the last part, still mad at Jasper’s decisions. “The remaining gems who survived the Corruption Blast have been successfully defeated and jailed. This part of the mission has been fulfilled without problems. There is only one inconvenience: Jasper’s vengeful obsession!” she yelled and sighed before continuing “Anyway, I won’t help her if Yellow Diamond decides to punish her for leaving the mission incomplete. It was ordered explicitly, unequivocally, and specifically to restart the kindergartens where the fusions experiments were” at the sound of ‘fusion experiments’ both Ruby and Sapphire stopped doing what they were doing and looked at Peridot, though she didn’t notice it “And most importantly, check the Cluster. Besides, if Jasper wants so much to have her revenge against the surviving rebels, why not just leaving them stranded in that sorry excuse of a planet? After all, the Cluster will hatch very soon, when that happens Earth and those clods will be gone, forever” Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire’s eyes widened in horror after hearing this but again, Peridot was too immersed in her log date to catch that reaction.

The technician walked to another part of the ship still recording. When she was gone, Pearl finally fell apart. The pain for pulling so hard at her hair was nothing compared to the terror of knowing that Steven wasn’t safe at all but also cruelly ignorant about the terrible fate Earth would suffer in stars-know-when.

No no no! This was wrong, so wrong! But what could they do? They were prisoners and those cells couldn’t be opened from the inside.

“Pearl” Sapphire called her, though the veteran Gem felt as if she had gone deaf in a second.

“What are we going to do?!” Ruby yelled desperately. Steven, Amethyst, Greg, humanity, and every little creature on Earth were still in danger!

“We’ll think of something. But we need to do it now that Peridot is gone, and fast”

////////////////////////////

_2 days later after the battle on the beach…_

Nostalgia and dread were such a weird emotional pair, though if you had cut ties with Homeworld and started a new life on another planet that was supposed to be a colony then it wasn’t that weird in the end.

That’s how Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire felt in that moment when they were dragged from the ship by two imposing Topazes and a bunch of Citrines, some of them holding large spiked clubs.

The immaterial hearts of the captured Crystal Gems were beating like crazy. Thousands of years they turned their backs on their home planet, made a new life with Rose on Earth, and now here they were, on Homeworld. So many memories, so many emotions, so many possibilities, both good and bad that could happen in their improvised escape plan.

Of course, there was an exception in the Nostalgia Club: Lapis Lazuli. As much as she hated herself and the idea that was blooming in her mind, this planet wasn’t her home anymore. It has changed, like a lot. And it was falling apart too. How the gempire survived with its core in pieces was beyond her.

It was a concept, no, a conflict that was tearing her apart. Mourning the loss of the place where she came from would have been painful, difficult, but fearing coming back? That was insane! Well, she had learned the lesson in the worst ways already. Not only Homeworld wasn’t the same but also, they weren’t there. She wondered if they had survived the war, or—

 _‘No, Lapis, forget it! Even if the Diamonds spare your life, you won’t have the time anymore to look for them! You have to move on!’_. Her thoughts turned more turbulent by the second, but the blue gem held back the tears that were coming with all the mental strength she had. With a heavy sigh, Lazuli let one of the Topazes handcuff her with gem power inhibitor shackles.

She huffed numbly. Yep, they would be idiots if they handcuffed their prisoner with something more primitive that didn’t stop them from using their powers. Whatever.

Lapis was placed at Pearl’s right side, much to her annoyance, while Ruby and Sapphire were put on the left side, all in a file. Jasper and Peridot were standing two steps ahead of them on the right side. The green gem looked very nervous and scared as if she had made a serious mistake. The hydrokinetic gem was unable to understand it, because they had defeated the Crystal Gems and there were no enemies anymore. Ugh, who cared! It’s not that Peridot was the one wearing a pair of shackles.

Suddenly, a little gem, light-blue skin, and tiny water wings came to present herself. An Aquamarine, she just hoped it wasn’t a flippant, super talking one. That kind was seriously distressing.

“Well, well, well, look at that. The Perfect Quartz and her technician” Aquamarine laughed arrogantly but no one else followed her lead “So, did you have fun squashing those troublemakers? Oh!” her eyes widened at seeing Lapis “Since when there is a terraformer on the rebel list? I’ve never seen that before”

“She is our informant, nothing else” Peridot responded, she still was nervous but not that much, composing herself as better as she could. “The others are the rebels we dealt with”

“Crystal Gems” Jasper spat “The pitiful defects who thought they could be able to destroy Homeworld’s system with their poisoning propaganda and that coward of a leader they don’t have at their side anymore”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING COWARD, BRUTE!!!” Ruby screamed, enraged. Before anyone could stop her, the gem headbutted Jasper right in the back like a crazy bull.

The warrior gem grabbed her from the neck and stamped her to the ground creating a little dent in the metallic floor. “I will enjoy every second of your punishment, filthy traitor” she spat at Ruby’s face, tightening the hold on her neck until one of the Citrines took care of the situation.

“Well, that was nasty, but hey, look at the bright side, Jaspy! Rejuvenation would serve that runt right. I mean, you have to see the new generation of Rubies, they don’t have enough passion or brain like this one, though that rebel has more energy than—”

“To hell with rejuvenation!! They deserve worse, heck, they deserve death! For you to suggest using her is the same as insulting MY DIAMOND!! Why don’t you follow her too with her doomed fate if you like her that much?!!”

Aquamarine’s smirk disappeared in an instant, replaced by a feral snarl. “Are you putting me in the same bag as those losers, you brutish, stuck-up idiot?! Should I remind you that I can report that kind of disobedience to the Diamonds for them to destroy you, uh?!”

And just like that, a fight began. Yelling and insults were spat from one mouth to the other. Jasper provoking the little light-blue gem, saying she couldn’t defeat someone who has fought and survived a war, and Aquamarine calling the other exaggerated for wanting some justice on a bunch of weaklings.

“Great, now we have to deal with The Oh-So-Perfect Quartz’s ranting” mumbled Topaz to her twin.

“At least, we don’t have to put up with Aqua for a while” replied the other.

However, Peridot wasn’t having it. Not this time. Not when time was still on their side but running without taking a single break. But it’s not that she had the courage to tell Jasper that accideeeeeeeentally she forgot to inform her about the miscalculation they made after defeating the rebels because if she remembered well, there were supposed to be three: a Pearl, a fusion, and a short Amethyst, but they just found 2.

_‘I can’t tell her. If I do, I’ll be good as dead. Though it doesn’t matter if Jasper finds out about this or not, the Cluster will destroy the whole planet with that defective gem inside of it. So, as long as I play my cards correctly and the Cluster’s emergence isn’t delayed, this little mistake will be only known by me. Yeah! Great idea! Nyehehehe, I’m a genius!’_

Her nervousness turned into a pleasant smile as she relaxed with the idea of the geo-weapon inside of Earth eliminating her tiny slipup. However, when her eyes were directed to the bickering gems, she found herself subjected to a confused Aquamarine and an I’m-so-done-with-this-nonsense Jasper who were looking at the technician as if she had another head.

“What?”

Aquamarine got a bit closer to Jasper “Is she defective?”

“They had her cuts wrong”

The green gem scrunched up her nose in disgust and outrage at those insults, ready to object but Aquamarine interrupted her: “Never mind, let’s take those rebels and the Lapis Lazuli to the interrogation room, shall we? Maybe they have some surprises under their sleeves they would looooove to share”

/////////////////////////////////

The walk to their next destination was a very tense one. No matter the direction, the captured Crystal Gems could only see other gems, potential witnesses of their escape plan if you can call their rushed ideas a plan, of course.

There were some Aegirines talking to each other who glanced at Pearl with arrogance, those would be hard to fight against if they crossed paths with them during their escapade. Afghanite was another threat too, that type of gem was the head of the interrogation process, the leader of the interrogators like Aquamarine, and also a hell of a fighter. As old as her, from Era 1, though Pearl doubted time has made her rusty.

The group entered an electrical blue building, an elevator placed them on the sixth floor, both Topazes and a pair of Citrines pushed the prisoners harshly while Peridot, Jasper, and Aquamarine were leading the way. The hallways weren’t that full of people, some gems entered the rooms to interrogate or be interrogated, an Aventurine suddenly opened a door while writing a report but before she could send it to somewhere else Aquamarine approached her.

“Where is Afghanite?” the other gem looked at her a bit annoyed at her lack of manners.

“A hello would’ve been good to hear, especially with the news your technician has sent a bit before coming here in regards to _those gems_ ” Aventurine sneered disgusted at Pearl, Sapphire, and a well-restrained Ruby who wanted to flip her the finger but couldn’t due to the shackles. “You should be grateful no one knows who they are. The war on Earth is still fresh for the survivors, and let’s not talk about the—”

“Cut it out! That’s more than obvious! Now, where the heck is Afghanite?!”

Aventurine scrunched her nose up in outrage but just sighed at the end before responding.

“She isn’t here at the moment. She went to one of Blue Diamond’s colonies to get rid of some unruly Bismuths who started a fight if I’m right”

“She just left?!”

“Don’t be that dramatic. She had a duty. There were some disturbances in colony 23. It seems that the Agate commanding the Bismuths really pissed them off, how and why, it’s not my business”

The little gem exhaled an ugh. She was planning on watching one of her superior’s most famous methods of interrogation on the rebels for the sake of her amusement, but now that Afghanite wasn’t here, dealing with them herself would be the only option.

Pearl inspected every corner around her. The only obstacles present in that moment were Jasper, a Citrine holding Ruby, the Topazes, and Peridot; Aquamarine was a hard bet, but if she had some weapon hidden in her clothes, things would be riskier for her and the others.

The plan was simple, too simple but very clear: free Ruby, Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli, and herself, capture Peridot and get the hell out of here. Back to Earth in any ship that they could find. To be honest, involving the waterbending gem in this was as crazy as the situation they were in, but what else could they do? None of them could fly from one planet to another except for Lazuli and if they failed to steal a ship it would be game over for everyone. Of course, trusting the gem might backfire terribly, it was pretty obvious she hated the Crystal Gems, especially Pearl, but there was no time in delving in old grudges, Steven and the Earth were in danger, so, taking this kind of risk was mandatory.

The thin gem looked at her right, the Topaz taking guard was a bit distracted, if she could only summon her spear and send her flying to the other Topaz and the Citrine, they would be free. She cursed mentally at the shackles preventing her to use her powers; whatever, if she had to use only her wits and raw strength to get out of here with the group then so be it.

Very slowly, Pearl backed down some steps making sure the Topaz at her right didn’t notice. Just when she was a bit behind the bulky gem, the veteran inhaled and yelled.

“GUYS, DUCK!” In a matter of seconds, Topaz was sent flying by a single, powerful kick of Pearl towards her twin and Citrine. Her friends and Lapis evaded being hit in time and got as far away from the guard gems who moaned in pain from the attack.

But it didn’t end here. Aquamarine grabbed the ribbon on her head which became into a wand, ready to paralyze the four, fortunately, both Ruby and Sapphire positioned over Pearl’s arms and she launched them to the light-blue gem and Jasper. The screaming and cursing attracted the attention of other gems who got out from the rest of the rooms of interrogation, wondering what was going on.

“Call security! Quickly! These traitors are trying to escape!” ordered Aventurine desperately. However, Pearl sent her flying to the group of witnesses as if she were a bowling ball with a single kick.

Peridot and Lapis, on the other hand, were in complete shock. The first one looked how her escort tried to get rid of a crazy Ruby who was covering her eyes with the shackles still on her hands, biting her abundant white hair, and kicking the back on her neck mercilessly as if that could poof Jasper. The Sapphire, meanwhile, was in a tug war with Aquamarine, trying to steal her wand using her teeth and determination only.

 _‘They went nuts. Absolutely nuts’_ Lapis thought but then, just when her mind yelled at her to escape the facility, Peridot caught her using the tractor beam of her limb enhancers.

“OH, COME ON!” the technician’s victory didn’t last for too long, though, because two muscular gems crashed with her violently which freed Lapis in an instant.

Meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to get her hands on the wand, Sapphire headbutted Aquamarine in an agile jump making her dropping the weapon; the seer gem grabbed it with her mouth.

“Sapphire, trap Peridot!” ordered Pearl. The small, blue gem didn’t know how to use the wand with her hands still trapped by the shackles but gave it a try. Maneuvering the object as best as she could, the anti-gravity beam of the weapon caged the technician, preventing her to move a mere muscle.

Very quickly but also carefully, Sapphire managed to lift the technician, but froze after watching Jasper throwing Ruby like a javelin towards Aquamarine, not caring if that hurt her; the huge quartz advanced at the seer with a menacing snarl painted on her face. In a snap her war helmet was summoned and prepared herself to spin and shatter Sapphire; however, at the same time she made the first step, Pearl used a low kick and the momentum and weight of the quartz were enough for the fall that then accompanied by another kick, this one on the face, cracking the lenses of her helmet.

“You disgusting piece of dirt!”

“The same one who made you fall” Pearl contested with as much confidence as she could muster.

Immediately, the veteran summoned 3 Holo-Pearls, two of them launched themselves to the enraged quartz, the third one ran to Sapphire and took Aquamarine’s wand. Pearl, on the other hand, helped Ruby get up from the floor and pushed her friend and Lapis to escape with Sapphire, and the now captured Peridot.

“Oh no, you won’t!” Jasper and the Citrine readied her weapons, the first one headbutted and the second one batted intending to shatter. They didn’t know that both Pearl and Ruby in that instant had the same idea: using the enemy strength against them. The spiked club of the Citrine clashed against Ruby’s shackles when the red gem copied the same movement from the guard to destroy them. An explosion sent both gems to opposite sides, though Ruby didn’t care so much about the painful fall but the fact that she could finally summon her gauntlets.

Another explosion occurred at the same time, with Pearl’s vision being swarmed by stars, dizzy. Using Jasper’s powerful headbutt that was even stronger with her helmet was a risky trick, though thankfully her gemstone was fine AND her powers were finally free to use.

“Ruby, I know you’ll only do it with Sapphire but we have no time”

“Fusion?”

“Exactly”

The red gem only nodded after some seconds before hugging her friend by the waist, hoping that was enough. Both gems started to shine, their bodies becoming a huge mass of light until a new form took shape.

She was slightly muscular, with two pairs of arms, both somewhat thin and with noticeable-to-some-extent biceps, and toned legs. Her hair was light cherry and curly, braided into a bun with a scarlet belt-like ribbon whose borders were a golden tone of white-ish pink. She was wearing a sleeveless blue kung fu kimono with some red spots, salmon short pants, and a belt whose extremes ended in stars. The last one in the same color fashion that her ribbon. And she had a mix of ballet flats and kung fu shoes.

“Oh stars, this is even worse than watching them escape… They have fused!!” yelled a horrified Aventurine. The other witnesses along with the Topazes twins couldn’t believe it either. However, Jasper’s rage only found more reasons to destroy the rebels.

“Fuck the trial! I’m going to rid Homeworld of these deviants myself!!”

“Not if Bustamite defeats you first” _‘Bustamite, uh?’_ Thought the recently born fusion, _‘It doesn’t sound that bad’_.

In the blink of an eye, Bustamite summoned a pair of gauntlets on her upper pair of hands, these weren’t as massive as Ruby’s or Garnet’s but they had their own ‘sharp’ charm and that was the trio of lethal blades, a bit curved at the end that ejected from the three holes of each gauntlet. Now Bustamite looked like a gem version of Wolverine, only in candy color and with a kung fu sense of fashion.

The fusion covered the blades of her gauntlets in flames and sent a huge, flaming X to the other gems with a single X movement of her upper arms. The distraction was powerful enough to make part of the sixth floor of the facility explode, giving Bustamite time to ran and catch up with Sapphire and Lazuli.

///////////////////////////////////

Lapis was in shock at how her luck could allow her to escape a fate that might have been the death or something worse than that, or maybe danger was waiting at the end of a corner with a multitude of murderous gems sent by the Diamonds. Honestly, she didn’t wanna know nor try to guess what kind of horror may be hidden in the plethora of traps her former home was preparing to get rid of her.

To make it even more difficult, she had to follow the Crystal Gem Sapphire’s and the Holo-Pearl who had Peridot trapped in an anti-gravity beam that had paralyzed her. Look, she didn’t care if the Sapphire could see the future but if in that future the little gem dared to send her into a trap, getting her killed, then Lapis would scream so loudly to reveal their location even if that doomed her.

“Turn to the right” Sapphire said a bit before passing a corner by, Lapis did as she said and the little group of fugitives stopped their running. The seer made sure no one was still searching for them, despite her ability to watch a series of events that hadn’t happened yet, her future vision was useless against those damned shackles because the moment they encaged her hands, the present made itself present. Did that make sense at all? Eh, well, that was something Sapphire could figure out for later.

Her only eye, even covered by her bangs, was directed to every direction. The havoc of their escapade really caused a commotion which worried her because that would only mean more trouble for Pearl and Ruby to catch up with them. She just hoped they were ok.

“What now?” asked Lapis Lazuli, impatiently.

“Now… We’ll just have to wait”

That wasn’t the response the waterbending expected not even the one she wanted to hear. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!!” Sapphire hushed her quickly, but Lapis didn’t stop “No! This—What the hell is this? I didn’t risk being cracked, shattered, or whatever after jumping with you and your weird friend from the sixth floor of that building to just hear shit like that! We are going to die! If they find us, it’s over!”

“Lapis Lazuli, I wish I could use my future vision, but as you see and I bet you’ve forgotten during our desperate run, these things on my hands have neutralized my main ability. I can’t see beyond what’s happening right now unless I destroy them, but this place is too risky. We need to be very far away from other gems to do it and then look for a ship”

“A ship?” Now Lapis was confused. Of course, she didn’t want to stay in Homeworld anymore, but she could easily fly away to wherever she wanted.

Sapphire wished for her future vision to come back more than anything because telling Lapis about this plan that involved her despite her anger and resentment against the Crystal Gems. She even was 100% sure the slender gem wasn’t aware of it. “This is something Pearl, Ruby, and I had been discussing while we were jailed in Peridot’s ship. You can help us save Earth” Lazuli froze at the mention of the planet, Sapphire still continued “Peridot mentioned a thing that I’m certain is a weapon of mass destruction. It is called the Cluster and—”

“Oh no. Nononononono! Absolutely not!” Yep, typical reaction. The seer gem didn’t need to predict it.

“You haven’t let me finish”

“I don’t need the whole story because guess what? I will not. Partake. In this”

“You should and you will,” said another voice that got them by surprise.

“Stranger! Stay back!” the Holo-Pearl got in offensive mode even when it still had a trapped, shocked Peridot by the anti-gravity wand.

The unknown gem climbed down gracefully from the roof where she was standing using some sort of claws. When she was finally in front of the distrustful group, the stranger showed the gem on her forehead and the one on the palm of her left hand.

Sapphire’s surprise turned into happy relief. “Pearl, Ruby! You’re alive!”

“Yep, they are. Let me introduce myself, I am Bustamite. A pleasure” and the fusion bowed a bit. The blue, short gem chuckled more as a congratulation than to relieve stress. “Quite impressive, Bustamite. Nice to meet you too”

The kung fu gem smiled, then her joy became seriousness. They weren’t out of danger, not yet.

“Alright, before going to the next step on this plan, let me get rid of those shackles” her friend nodded and raised her arms. Bustamite’s gauntlets blades cut swiftly through the metal of the shackles, that caused a short circuit which was enough to unlock them and free Sapphire’s hands. Her future vision returned to her much to her joy but also horror, something that the fusion noticed.

“Ok, Lapis Lazuli. Now it’s your turn” however, the blue gem shook her head in negative, glaring at her. No way in hell was she going to participate in this nonsense of plan they had.

“One more step and I’ll scream. Don’t test me” she threatened.

“Scream! Yell, you clod! Reveal the location of these traitors! If they escape, we’ll be good as shattered!” ordered Peridot who seemed to finally snap out of her shock.

Bustamite groaned and ripped the wand from the Holo-Pearl’s hands, then she slammed Peridot to the ground knocking her unconscious. One problem solved, three left to take care of. The fusion looked at Lapis, her eyes had a very clear message in them, that if she tried something, the slender gem would get anyone’s attention no matter how crazy that was. Sighing heavily, the components of the fusion separated, Ruby and Sapphire hugged tightly and fused into Garnet.

Now Pearl could talk and explain, “Lapis Lazuli, I know that your feelings towards us -the Crystal Gems- and Earth are negative and you don’t want anything to do with us, but there is more at stake than you can imagine. Our—”

“I don’t care” she interrupted sharply much to the other’s surprise.

“Could you please let me explain?”

“No. You can blabber whatever Crystal Gem propaganda you want, but I won’t. Go. With any of you”

“Pearl” the veteran looked at her friend, frustrated and anxious “Put Peridot inside your gemstone, we have to go” the pale gem opened her mouth but the fusion talked again before she could “20 seconds”

Alarms roared inside Pearl’s head at that warning. As fast as a bolt of lightning, Pearl made here Holo-Pearl disappear and stored the unconscious technician and the wand -it could be useful now that she knew what it did- inside her gemstone which gave Lapis the creeps and some unwanted flashbacks.

Then, before the waterbending could react, Garnet carried her over her shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes. “What the heck?!!” the fusion ignored her shocked scream and motioned Pearl to follow her. A new run started through the streets of Homeworld, though there was now a new inconvenience.

“OVER THERE!! TRAP THE REBELS!!” the thin gem just glanced a bit at their persecutors who, to her back luck, were nothing more and nothing less than a group of Aegirines who took flight and fired nonstop hyper beams from their black capes.

‘Stars… If we don’t find a shortcut to lose them, we’ll be blown into pieces’ that was the only thing running in both Pearl and Garnet’s mind, driving them crazy but also motivating them to keep running and evading as best as they could the attacks. Nothing like the fear of dying to make you work harder, right?

//////////////////////////////////////

3 or 4 hours may have passed since the chasing, the veteran Crystal Gems only knew exhaustion and numbness from their relentless fights in the war on Earth, but now, of all the times, that same fatigue came back alongside confusion. They had found, thankfully, a secret passage to the oldest kindergartens from Era-1 times which gave them a bit more of time to take a break and reorganize their plan because the only thing they needed at that moment was a map to the station of ships. If the Homeworld of now was the one they knew a long time ago, this would be simpler but the reality wasn’t smiling at them.

“We will have to ambush and threaten a gem from the outside if we want to get out of here, or at least, make sure Lapis can get out and help us!”

“You know I said no, right?” grumbled the mentioned gem which caused Pearl’s right eye twitched in exasperation. She was wondering what possessed her to trust the same gem who stole the ocean and attacked her and her family with something as serious as saving the Earth and Steven.

Garnet thought for a second in the possibility of changing the waterbending gem by telling her that the only person who freed her from the mirror was in danger. There was a chance for that to work and there was also a chance for Lazuli to refuse to help because of her anger. A multitude of possibilities played in her mind, but knowing that time was running out, so she advanced to the still helpless gem and opened her mouth to try an explanation for the last time; however…

“Steven is in danger!” confessed Pearl at the brink of a mental breakdown due to the stress.

Uh, what?

“W-What?” Now **that** got Lapis’ attention.

Garnet was a bit surprised at that change in the course of events but let Pearl take the steering wheel of it.

“Steven is. In. Danger! Inside the arm ship, Peridot mentioned the Cluster. We don’t have any idea what it is, but according to her, it will emerge or something which will cause the end of Earth and everything on it, including Steven. If we don’t destroy it, everyone will die, **he** will die!”

Lapis’ hands went over her mouth in abject horror, her eyes stinging with the coming tears though she put a dam to stop them. Peridot said all of that inside the ship, when? She had no idea, maybe in private. No, that couldn’t be. If the Crystal Gem Pearl had heard about that Cluster stuff and what it would do then it meant she should’ve heard too, but Lapis was so immersed in her own misery that she missed it.

And Steven… Oh, stars, Steven… He didn’t know a single thing about what would happen to him and the Earth. If nothing was done, then he…

“No…” her mouth could only mumble that. What could they do to prevent this? Wait a second. Why would they need her? They were free and could find a ship to get out of here, right? So, why freeing her? What chances Lapis had to prevent Steven’s fate?

“I don’t know anything about that thing” her voice was shaky and barely audible “Why do you want me to be in your plan, though? I mean, you’re free now, you can return”

“It’s not that simple, Lapis. Sapphire’s future vision can only see one path with one result, but as me -Garnet- the number of paths multiplies and depending on the circumstances and our actions, the outcome can be good or bad. Right now, our chances to escape are very slim. We are being chased, many gems might find us right now or they may be waiting for our next move to ambush us and ruin our plan. That’s why we need you. If Pearl and I aren’t successful in escaping from Homeworld, the only one left will be you”

“Be-Because I can fly from one planet to another”

“Exactly” Pearl intervened “Not only that, Peridot has all the information about the Cluster, so, whether Garnet and I manage to take a ship or not, you’ll have some resources to help Steven and stop that weapon or creature from destroying everything”

Pearl watched every feature on Lapis’ face, waiting, praying, that she could accept this and help them. The eyes of the other gem were conveying a lot of emotions: anger, fear, hopelessness, confusion, anxiety, concern, pain. It was like an emotional ping pong within the mind and heart of Lazuli, revealed in her visual orbs.

There was, though, a tiny spiteful voice that started talking to her, out of the blue. Collecting her worst memories slyly, reminding her why this wasn’t a good idea. And the more she heard it, the more conflicted she felt.

_‘Don’t listen to them. They’re using you. You’re just convenient because you can fly in the space’_

_‘What about Steven?’_

_‘What chances do you have to save him, though? Besides, it’s not that having Peridot with you will help. She will call for backup and things will be more difficult! What if she warns Jasper? What if an army of Homeworld comes to Earth? Are you ready for another war in that ball of mud of a planet?’_

Lapis shivered at the mention of a new war. She could still feel the callous knuckles of that muscular gem connecting violently with her back and poofing her. Leaving her utterly defenseless.

_‘B-But… Steven needs me’_

_‘It’s **them** who need you. Steven let you free, didn’t he? You don’t want to get trapped again even if it is to save him, right? He will have to waste his time on you instead of dealing with the real problem’_

_‘He doesn’t know about the Cluster’_

_‘Peridot is too loyal to give in and reveal where the Cluster is or how to destroy it. She will find a way to report back to Homeworld, and let’s not forget that you are a fugitive like these Crystal Gems’_

_‘If no one does something then—’_

_‘Let’s say the Crystal Gems are lucky in getting to a ship without getting caught. Then what? Do you think they will let you go with them? At most, they’ll make you believe that they will do it so you can serve as a distraction and thus their plan becomes a success. You’re their only option left if they fail. None of them can fly to space even if they are able to shapeshift. You’re fast, you can take Peridot with you while they make a distraction. Without those traits, you’re useless to them. Those two wouldn’t have thought of helping you escape the facility if you were unable to travel through space’_

There was a pause, a long one. Maybe the voice decided to shut up, or maybe it was expecting its arguments to convince Lapis of not helping Pearl and Garnet.

 _‘You know’_ that tone of voice -hahaha, tone of voice even when it was a voice, ok, no, she was losing it already- unnerved her instantly. Whatever plan it had, it couldn’t be good _‘Maybe we can use this in our favor. Instead of letting them take advantage of you, what if you do that to them?’_

_‘What?’_

_‘Yeah, it’s very easy. If for some reason things go wrong and these rebels can’t escape, you will still have your chance to get as far away from here. You just have to pretend to be collaborative and when they tell you to escape, you will. And once you’re out of Homeworld’s clutches, you can go wherever you want. They will never know. Well, it’s not that they can do anything to you if they find out, but the point is still the same. Pretend to cooperate, gain their trust, if they manage to steal a ship without getting caught, get rid of them to escape if they distract the security so you can escape unharmed, make them believe you will save the Earth. It’s pretty easy. Just. Pretend’_

Pretend. Just pretend. Deceive them, trap them and let them helpless, just like she was in that goddamned mirror. It sounded so sweet, so tempting. Why not do it then? Pearl could’ve freed her from that object but instead, she kept her inside her gemstone, no one did nothing to help her and now they had the audacity to ask for her help? As if she were going to say yes, all willy-nilly?

Absurd. Completely absurd.

Doing something as risky as lying to them wouldn’t be easy, though. Not with the fusion’s future vision. What if she saw in a vision that Lapis was going to betray them when the chance came? But she had to try, right? She wasn’t going to let anyone imprison her again. No, she couldn’t.

The sweetness in that plan, however, hid a bitter taste. It was dark and somber, she knew it. Once she betrayed the Crystal Gems and ran away from them and Homeworld, Lapis would be safe, but…

But Steven’s life would be over.

And didn’t she risked her life once to warn him about Peridot and Jasper?

 _‘That was different. This problem is of bigger scale’_ she rationalized. In part it was true, but still, she felt like a hypocrite. After all the effort Steven put in making sure Lapis wasn’t bubbled or stored again while she was still inside the mirror, after he jeopardized his place within the Crystal Gems to free her, and fixed her gem even when the blue gem stole the ocean, why would Lapis think doing this would be a good idea?

 _‘I wanted to be free’_ said a part of her in the corner of her mind. Steven gave her that opportunity.

 _‘I wanted to go home’_ again Steven helped her going back to Homeworld.

 _‘I didn’t want to be an object’_ that strange, kind kid was the only one who treated her as a person, not a tool.

“What should I do?” Lapis muttered unconsciously. One part of her hated the mere idea of returning to Earth, the same place where she was poofed and imprisoned. The other part was horrified at the idea of letting Steven die. And all the anger, resentment, and distrust against the Crystal Gems was making things more difficult.

“Steven freed you, didn’t he?” said Garnet, which took Lapis by surprise. After composing as best as she could, she nodded grimly. “Earth may not be your home, but it’s his. He treasures it, just like you treasure Homeworld.

“It is unrecognizable now. There is no one here I’d known”

“You valued your time here nonetheless, before it was ripped from you” at that, the slender gem shut her eyes, hating how vulnerable the statement made her feel because it was true. She loved her time in the past Homeworld because she was with _them_. But who knows where could they be or if they were actually alive?

“Steven’s home, Earth, is not only his home planet” intervened Pearl, awkwardly because speeches like this weren’t so much of her strongpoint “It’s the place where he made memories with the people he loved, but it’s also where he made connections with both humans and gems as he did with you. And he’s going to lose it if we don’t do something. I know this isn’t your problem, Lapis, but we need as much help as we can. Besides, there is no obligation to stay. Neither Garnet nor I said that you would have to live on Earth after that. We just want to save him and everyone else we know there… Please”

That last sentences could have made things easier, but it was the total opposite. The size, the power, and everything else the Cluster consisted was a mystery to them, a mystery Peridot knew the clues and the ways to solve. But what if that wasn’t enough? What if she ended up dying there?! In the end, risking her life, even if it was only for Steven, would be for nothing.

Goddammit, why of all times a moral dilemma had to fall from the sky and choose her?!

 _‘They said I don’t have to stick around. If this ‘Saving the Earth and Steven’ plan works, I can leave. Once he is completely safe, I can leave that planet’_. Besides she owed him a lot and watching how he lost his entire home and life would haunt her consciousness forever. It wouldn’t be the same as him handing her over to the Crystal Gems when she was still trapped in the mirror, but the cruelty was still there.

“I-I’ll try”

“What?” Pearl asked, not hearing well the response.

“I’ll try!” Lapis yelled, feeling her gemstone pulsing harshly because of the stress “I will try. I don’t know if this will work and the planet will be saved in time, but I will do my best. For Steven. Only for him. And once the Cluster is dealt with, I’ll leave”

Both Garnet and Pearl smiled relieved, letting out a long sigh they didn’t know they were holding, and gem didn’t need to breathe.

“Thank—” Garnet was immediately interrupted.

“No. Nothing of ‘thank you’. Just—Just let’s get over this with. The sooner the better”

Pearl then summoned her spear and approached Lapis a bit more which the blue gem didn’t take kindly. “Don’t worry, I’ll destroy those shackles so you can use your powers again” explained the veteran. Lazuli wasn’t that sure but Pearl calmly asked her to put her hands on the ground, then she placed the sharp end of the spear in the center of the gem power inhibitors and shoot a laser beam from her weapon.

Lapis backed away at the same time a little explosion occurred, massaging her sore wrists, and summoned her water wings some times to make sure everything was alright.

“Well, now that we are free of those obstacles. Let’s keep going with the plan” Garnet signaled them to follow her. Though her future vision was a bit blurry, she could sense her next exit wasn’t that far away from them.

////////////////////////////////////

It took some effort, stealth skills, and a lot of time, but they finally made it. Earth.

No, hahaha, just kidding. If that were true, this story would be heckuva short. Anyway, the military airport was full of outdated and upgraded ships. Some small, some big, some for combat, and some for espionage. There was one, however, that the three fugitives put their eyes on instantly. A Ruby specialized ship. It looked like an upside-down red teardrop with 3 ‘feet’ coming out of the sharp point that touched the ground.

A quartet of Rubies was recently getting out of the ship, not knowing it was going to be stolen, though what Pearl, Garnet, and Lapis needed was total silence. There were some gems coming in and out of the airport, some Peridots were repairing a ship, an orange Agate was commanding a squadron of blue quartzes to a warship for a mission. Too many witnesses.

Lazuli was losing her patience, at this rate, she would poof due to the anxiety.

“What are we going to do now?” she whispered to Garnet. The fusion looked pensive for a moment. In many scenarios, they got cracked or shattered. In some, some survived and just one is shattered. Lapis helped them stealing a ship but is left behind accidentally. Or they gave her the chance to escape but she didn’t make it that far.

“Let’s use stealth and silence again. Pearl, Lapis, stay here. Once I gave the signal, you can get out” they nodded, Garnet shapeshifted into a grasshopper and jumped to the group of Peridots. Apart from those gems, there wasn’t anyone else. The fusion went back to normal in front of them much to their surprise, even one trying to call security until she was poofed with a single punch.

Garnet whistled after poofing the gems and Pearl and Lapis approached her cautiously. She signaled then the last row of ships where the one the Rubies used were, the one they needed to get back home.

_‘Things are going well so far. Should I be happy or worried? What if they leave me to my devices, to fend for myself against the gems the Diamonds have surely sent to hunt us down? That won’t happen, right? Besides, I don’t want to do this on my own. I don’t even have any idea of how to save a whole planet!’_

Lapis’ thoughts were quickly interrupted when she felt a pair of strong arms, Pearl’s strong arms, wrapped her tightly while the veteran moved to a side with her in shock. However, the shock morphed into terror when, milliseconds later, a beam created a crater right in the same spot the fugitives were.

Oh shit, they had been caught!!

“Destroy the ships. Don’t let them enter any of them” said a robotic voice that sent shivers to Pearl’s spine. That could only mean one thing.

“Onyxes. Oh stars, they sent Onyxes. White Diamond’s best fighters” Lazuli felt to the ground, butt to the floor with her hopes depleting tremendously. If the Crystal Gem Pearl was right, then it was over. They couldn’t fight against those monsters. They were nearly invincible.

A group of 5 Onyxes started shooting beams from their single eye to every spaceship in their radar much to the others’ horror. Still, Garnet glanced at her friend and Lapis before giving what might be her last order as a leader. “Go to the Rubies’ ship! Now! I will distract them!” and there she went, to the heart of the carnage.

Pearl’s eyes wanted to spill waterfalls, she knew her comrade was strong and capable but the Onyxes were beyond her league; still, they couldn’t lose any second given to them. Grabbing Lapis’ hand, she forced her to stand up and both ran towards the Ruby ship. Just when they were some meters away from their last resource of escape, a huge stealth ship clashed with the red one, sending both gems flying due to the explosion.

The veteran Crystal Gem got up instantly despite the bruises and put herself and Lapis to safety. It came to her a somber conclusion that was beyond her wildest imagination and worst nightmares but couldn’t and shouldn’t be ignored: the waterbending gem was their last chance in saving Steven. Of course, after the fiasco of battle Sardonyx had with Jasper, Pearl doubted the fusion were strong enough to defeat at least one Onyx, but it was better than nothing, right?

Better risking it that letting Homeworld getting away with their madness.

Pearl’s gem then started shining and from the light, a dizzy Peridot and a wand appeared.

“What the—?” before Lapis was able to finish, though, Peridot aimed one of her limb enhancers’ cannon laser towards Pearl. Her first shot was derailed by a graceful kick of the veteran who summoned her spear at top speed and impaled it through the technician’s chest, poofing her.

“Ok, she is poofed. Now, Lapis, I will teach you how to put things inside your gem before she reforms”

“Put things in my gemstone?!” Was that Pearl crazy or what?! “We don’t have time for--!”

“I know very well, but Garnet can’t hold on much longer against those gems! I have to help her before they shatter her! You’re our last hope, Lapis. So, please, just. Listen!” another huge explosion shook the ground of the military airport. Pearl gritted her teeth, trying to compose herself. Imagining what Garnet might be going through right now wasn’t going to help anyone.

“Look, bubble Peridot, quickly” Lapis did it despite the doubts, and the ‘this Pearl is more nuts than I thought’ running through her mind. “Ok, now, you just have to lightly press the upper and lower parts of the bubble while thinking where you want to send it. Think about the inside of your gemstone as a store or a box to put things there. You need to be clear if you want to make it right”

The waterbending gem nodded and put both hands where Pearl told her to. Inside her gemstone, visualization of a box, enough space to store things. With a soft, careful tap, the bubble with Peridot inside disappeared.

“It’s done already? I did it right?”

“Yes! First attempt successful! I saw your gemstone shining at the same time you pressed the bubble, so it meant it worked” the ground shook more than ever. Furious voices were heard from afar, it seemed the Onyxes and Garnet’s fight was getting a lot of attention. That or more gems were sent to capture them by the Diamonds.

Pearl watched a part of the ceiling falling apart. If she fused with Garnet right now, Sardonyx could give Lapis enough time to escape without being noticed. But the biggest explosions should be caused for that to happen.

“Lapis, wait here. I will fuse with Garnet to fight and wreak as much havoc as it is possible, so you can escape”

That was suicidal! Really stupid! The Onyxes wouldn’t be that clueless to not see through that strategy. Pearl, though, didn’t let Lapis object about that idea because she shut her up with a glare that said ‘No time for protests or objections, missy’, and ran straight to the battle.

Garnet was in really bad shape. One of the Onyxes almost poofed while the other one tried to separate her components. Almost all the spaceships had been destroyed and thinking about how Pearl and Lapis might be doing just dampened her mood. “Garnet!!” the fusion glanced at Pearl who was approaching her to her left much to her horror.

She jumped from the scraps of a recently ruined ship, ready to snap at her friend because Garnet didn’t risk her life for Pearl to enter to the center of hell and get herself shattered. However, Pearl’s face conveyed a very clear message of their situation that even her future vision was showing her: they would be staying in Homeworld for a while; Lapis would be the one returning to Earth.

With a somber determination, Garnet sprinted towards her comrade despite the shower of eye beams and debris. Both veterans hugged tightly, fusing into Sardonyx who summoned her hammer. “Let’s party this up, shall we?” Her body started rotating like a spinning top to such a velocity that a mini-tornado consumed her completely, being in the center of it. Her hammer sent flying pieces of ships, floor, and ceiling everywhere and the Onyxes fired their eye beams to get rid of the flying obstacles.

Of course, that gave Lapis the opportunity to fly to a big hole in the corner of the ceiling. She just needed to be fast enough to overcome the power of that tornado and agile to evade any attack of the Onyxes or some debris. That strategy seriously spiked her anxiety, not wanting to have again a cracked gem that left her powerless in front of more powerful gems.

Lapis started maneuvering through the chaos, all the destruction leaving a path that looked like an obstacle course for training. One explosion accelerated her heart and almost derailed her flight, but she kept going, and then in a flash almost imperceptible, her wings and the urgency of the mission took her to the thermosphere, though Lapis could barely care at this point.

Minutes later, when her senses got in order, she stopped. The blue gem was already in space, not that far from Homeworld to feel comfortable but far away from it to let her guard down to take deep breaths.

She couldn’t believe it. The plan worked. Now she was free!

But the course of time ahead of her told her there were some issues she needed to take care of, and someone very precious to save.

“Steven…”. Who could’ve imagined that she would have to return to that gem-forsaken place? But she had to. If the planet was destroyed, Steven would die. Doing this was the least she could do for him.

At least his joy at seeing her again and thinking she was paying him a visit would lessen the weight of her paranoia.

“Just do it Lapis Lazuli. Just fucking do it! This is for him only! Save him by saving that stupid planet!”

Gathering all her courage, the slender gem pushed herself forward and kept flying to her next destination: planet Earth.


	4. Greetings, I am Mr. A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was happening on Earth while the Crystal Gems and Lapis were trying to escape?

“So… That’s what happened to them”

“Yep, that’s what happened to them” Connie side-hugged Steven sympathetically, letting him lean his head on her shoulder while she leaned her head on his black curls.

Despite the anxiety and urges to visit him and find out what was going on, Connie did as Amethyst had told her when the girl called, she gave Steven time to process the tragedy that had befallen him. Then, the next day, she asked for permission to go see him which his dad granted even when her mom had the same bad feeling as Connie.

And now, here she was, consoling her best friend after listening to such a heartbreaking story. Both Pearl and Garnet were gone, kidnapped by other aliens of the same kind as them. The only one who was spared of that fate was Amethyst, but Connie bet that the purple quartz had preferred to be at her friends’ side to help them in the fight that losing them. Well, it’s not that wishful thinking was going to change anything, right?

Still, watching the hollow sorrow in Steven’s eyes tore her soul apart. No one deserved to be put through such a tragedy, especially not a child. Then Connie wondered how strong the enemy gems were to defeat two of Steven’s guardians and imprison them. That terrified her, not only because they could come back but also because if they decided to return, her friend would have to see more of his family getting hurt and being taken away from him.

The first time she was told that a family member of Steven was seriously injured was when both were having a picnic. He explained how Amethyst accidentally got her gemstone cracked and how the crack grew and grew much to his and Pearl and Garnet’s horror and concern. He tried desperately to cry some tears, hoping to have inherited his mom’s healing powers. Of course, it didn’t work. He didn’t have healing tears but healing spit, but at least, Amethyst was saved in time.

However, Steven felt like a failure, lamenting that if he didn’t find a way to develop his powers then the Gems wouldn’t want him to join them in missions or would tell him to not be around them anymore. He respected them and wanted their approval, and now, he wanted both Pearl and Garnet back, though it was impossible. Heck, Connie didn’t want to imagine what the enemy was doing to them at this moment.

“I’m sorry, Steven,” she said softly, tightening her hug.

“I should’ve been there”

“W-What?” Did she hear right?

“I should’ve been there!” Steven separated from Connie and started to pace back and forth, his pain turned into anger and frustration, feeding his self-loathing. “I should’ve! I have my bubble and my shield, and-and my healing spit! I could’ve changed things back then! Pearl and Garnet would still be here if I hadn’t wasted my time waiting or obeying Dad by staying put because he said it was dangerous and—”

“But he is right!” Connie got his attention with that single sentence “He is right, Steven. It WAS dangerous. You didn’t know what those unknown gems were capable of, you only knew they were coming because Lapis sent you a message to warn you. What if you’d gotten hurt? What if you’d been abducted with Pearl and Garnet or in their place? What if you’d died?! Do you want that? Was your great idea leave me behind?!”

Steven flinched guiltily at that supposition. He didn’t know what to say to calm his friend down; of course, he wasn’t planning on leaving everyone behind, that would be crazy, but he didn’t do anything back then. Even Amethyst, who was told to not join the fight, was putting a lot of effort into moving on and help in the reconstruction of the house. Meanwhile, what was he doing exactly? Nothing!

Dad told him to rest because he needed to, despite his willingness in being part of the Beach House reconstruction. Amethyst told him to ‘chill out, have fun, dude’ while she took care of the most important parts of their home like the Warp Pad and in making sure no more enemies came from space. It was as if in their eyes, he didn’t have anything worthwhile to apport.

Was that it? Did they think so low of him?

“Steven?” Connie approached him, feeling horrible with herself for blowing up “Steven… I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said things like those. I’m just scared for you, but I came here to comfort you because I was worried and now, I made you feel bad. I’m sorry”

“It’s ok” his voice didn’t sound that convincing, Connie felt there was something else bothering him too much.

“Is there another thing you want to talk about?” the hybrid boy looked away “Come on, Steven, you know you can trust me. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want to”

“I just… I just feel like Dad and Amethyst don’t trust me anymore” Connie raised an eyebrow, confused by that statement “It’s true, or I think it is. Every time I want to help with the house, they tell me to relax or rest or anything else. Maybe they think I’m not capable, that I’m going to hold them back”

“Oh, Steven. That’s not true. They’re just worried that letting you help will put a lot of stress on you”

“But they’re stressed too!”

“I’m not saying their stress doesn’t matter, what I’m saying is that they can handle it. They’re the adults in the family, Steven. Your dad, Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl, their duty is taking care of you and protecting you. I know you want to help, but your health is also important, and you’ve been through a lot”

“But if I don’t help in any way, what’s the point in being a Crystal Gem then?”

Connie grabbed him by the shoulders softly and looked at him seriously “You are a Crystal Gem whether you’re helping or not” Steven glanced at his chest, not convinced “I meant it, Steven. Besides, you have to remember that you’re a kid. A kid like me, and you have lost two people very dear to you. It was traumatic and it has hurt you deeply. What you can do now is rest and move on at your own pace. I know your dad and Amethyst would say the same”

“Yeah…” Steven was still conflicted between what Connie said and his feelings of inadequacy and the pain of losing his two guardians. Still, he decided to let it go for now and leaned his head on the girl’s shoulder while he watched the ocean, calm and mysterious.

Both kids were silent, feeling the breezes of air caressing their skins. The hill of the lighthouse was peaceful even in moments of great distress like this.

“Hey, Connie… Um, thanks. You know, for listening. I needed that”

“Of course, and you will have more ears to vent to when your Dad talks—” Connie then stopped herself, her eyes widened in horror much to Steven’s confusion. It was supposed to be something Greg told Steven about, not her.

“What were you going to say?”

“Uuuuuhhhh, w-well” she could lie, couldn’t she? But after watching Steven’s curious eyes, she decided to just summarize “Your dad will talk with my mom about something to help the three of you. He didn’t tell me what exactly, but it might be useful”

“I’m not hurt. I wasn’t injured”

“Maybe it has to do with the fact that you and your family are struggling with this tragedy and many other things. Besides, if the information comes from my mom, I bet things will be alright. She knows what she is doing!” Connie smiled encouragingly while wondering what kind of conversation Greg and Priyanka were having right now.

///////////////////////////////////

Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran has dealt with many bizarre situations in and out of the hospital. Some were hard to believe, others were made up, and the rest… The rest just made her feel as if she was part of the cast of a crazy sitcom for anyone’s entertainment.

However, the story Greg was telling her could only be put in the first category because, after watching the weirdness that represented Steven’s life and his family, trying to cover it up as if someone was pranking her sounded stupid. Besides, even when aliens, abductions, and spaceships weren’t the main topics in her expertise, what mattered in that conversation was the fact that Steven -her daughter’s friend- was suffering and needed help. Professional help.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t give that. Priyanka was a doctor, not a therapist. What she could offer, though, was a good recommendation. And she knew exactly who could help the grieving family and especially the boy to cope and heal adequately.

“First of all, my big condolences towards the loss of part of your family, Greg. I had a bad feeling churning in my mind about what was going on because some people started a rumor about a green thing appearing in the sky, but God, I didn’t know it was that bad”

“I didn’t know it either” Greg commented sadly “I always considered the Gems strong and capable. For them to be defeated and taken away, it means the enemy was out of their league. But, as much as I have to accept that they’re gone, I also want to believe that they have a plan B to make it out alive. Meanwhile, the only thing I can do for now is taking care of Schtu-ball and Amethyst. They’re so heartbroken, and I’m worried that Steven is going to push himself harder to be useful in these trying times. Amethyst and I were telling him today a lot of times to take a break and not burden himself with the reconstruction work, but he is very stubborn. He loves helping others, but right now helping him is the priority. And to do that, we need some help too”

“Good for calling me then, because I have the number of an excellent therapist. He is an old friend of one of my colleagues who I met a time ago. You don’t have to worry about the price. He has a very unconventional way to make his business flourish without his patients being uncomfortable about the costs. I will give you his number and email for you to call him. And again, I’m sorry you and your family are going through this”

“Thank you, doc. I appreciate it” with that said, Greg wrote the number and email address Priyanka dictated him before bidding farewell and hanging up.

Ok, this was step number one. Now to step number two: telling Steven and Amethyst about this idea.

Oh boy, it would be a LOT to unpack.

////////////////////////////////////////

The Beach House wasn’t in such a good shape, but the efforts Amethyst and Greg put summed with some income the neighbors borrowed them to keep things under control paid them off. Sure, the roof and a big part of the living room needed more materials; Steven’s toys were broken, his room was disorganized; and the Warp Pad couldn’t be fixed, the house was still standing nonetheless.

Now, what should be erect was the mood between the three members of the family who were in the under-repair living room. Amethyst and Steven were sat on the sofa, watching Greg pacing back and forth, mumbling, sweating nervously for what could be hours.

“Dude, you wanted us here because you had something to tell us, right? Then, just tell us! Waiting here is making me as nervous as you”

“Dad, is something wrong?” Steven looked at his father with concern and fear which was enough for Greg to finally stopped beating around the bush silently and take the bull by its horns.

“Guys, I’ve talked with doctor Priyanka. I know you might not remember her that much, but she is Connie’s mom”

Steven was the only one who nodded, being brought to the moment when his friend told him about her mother and Greg having an adult chat.

“What’s a doctor?” Amethyst asked on the other hand.

“A doctor is someone who works in healing people whenever they are sick or get injured in accidents”

“Like when Steven uses his healing spit?”

“Steven has healing powers; a doctor needs a lot of experience to be able to heal others. But, anyway, look guys, the reason I called Priyanka and asked her for her help it’s because we are in dire need of therapy”

At the mention of that word, both gem and kid raised their eyebrows. Greg sighed, dreading the continuation but pushed himself to go on.

“We are going through a lot, there is no way to deny that. We have lost both Pearl and Garnet, the house is in shambles -well not all of it-, and we don’t know if the ones who took them away will come back. We are barely functioning. It’s a lot of stress, that’s why after a conversation with Vidalia, I talked with Priyanka and she gave me the number and email of a therapist to help us”

Amethyst and Steven looked at each other still processing what Greg was telling them. For now, they hadn’t said a single thing which the old man didn’t know if it was a good sign or a bad sign. A protest, a question, maybe someone crossing their arms had been enough, but none of that happened.

“Ok, so, before going on, do you want to know what a therapist is? Wanna ask some questions?”

“Greg, aren’t therapists for crazy people?” She remembered some jokes about that topic on Lil’ Butler.

“No, Amethyst, they’re not for crazy people. Besides, that’s plain rude. Therapists are like Priyanka. I mean, well, she takes care of the body if something bad happens to it, while a therapist takes care of the mind, the emotions when people feel suffocated or lost because of some unpleasant events”

“And you think we need that?” now the tone of her voice was more disbelief than annoyed. Greg found it difficult to decipher what she meant by that. Was Amethyst shrugging off this advice because she believed it was unnecessary? Or was she struggling to process the info?

“We DO need it. Especially Steven” at the mention of his name, the little boy was brought back to reality, because even for a kid, that kind of news was too much to assimilate. “Me?” he could only say.

“Yeah, Schtu-ball” Greg kneeled in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know you’ve been eager to help us to repair the house, and I know that you see how much we are hurting too, but right now your health is important. What happens to you is the priority. I’ll be frank here, Steven, a bit before that spaceship came, I asked you if you ever felt as if this gem stuff was too much for you” the kid’s expression was of recognition; yeah, Dad asked him that “Pearl and Garnet being…gone was a disaster, but my worries go beyond that. I know I’m not a gem like them or Amethyst, or even you, despite being half-gem, but I should’ve put more effort into learning how a gem is and what to do if a gem attack. I let you live with the Crystal Gems because I wanted you to choose and not feel so…suffocated” that last part Greg said it bitterly, remembering hurtful events of his childhood “But I think I started with the wrong foot. I put myself on the sidelines because I thought I wouldn’t be necessary and you would be well-cared”

“But you’re necessary!” Steven intervened, thinking his father was sad for some reason, maybe loneliness or not spending enough time with him.

Greg just smiled and ruffled his hair. “It’s ok, kiddo. That’s something I need to check on my own. The point is, I’ve let you roam freely and live with the Gems because that’s what you wanted, but it was too much for you to bear because not everything that is gem stuff can be good. There are bad or dangerous things. Like those guys who took Pearl and Garnet away”

“Uuuhhh, Greg, are you saying that you don’t want Steven being trained and living with me? I mean, I’m a gem” that set the alarms off inside the hybrid’s head. Was that it then? Would he have to move to another place with Dad? But what about Amethyst? She would be completely alone.

“No, no, don’t jump to conclusions. I never said or implied anything about separating the family, though I remained in a corner for the most part. What I’m saying is that Steven needs both sides of his family, human and gem. At first, living with him sounded great, though there were some issues between you guys and me due to…Rose being gone” he mumbled softly, Amethyst flinched nonetheless, recapitulating the night when she transformed into Rose to torment Greg and Steven discovered her. “What I’m saying is that I should be more involved in this. Sure, I’m not a gem, I don’t have powers either, but I’m his father and as one, it’s my job to take care of him and find ways to do it if there is a problem that is beyond my league. And I will start by living with you guys from now on. Also, I don’t know how many missions the Gems went to every day, but if Steven wants to go and help that’s fine; however, I will go too to make sure he is ok”

Amethyst’s jaw seemed to have fallen from the rest of her face after hearing that statement. And to top it all, Greg’s determination made it clear for her and Steven that he wasn’t bluffing but being serious. She had to give him credit though, the guy despite not being so knowledgeable about gems, had helped on some occasions and she still cared about him and valued their former friendship.

There was a tiiiiny problem which Greg should be aware of already and that was that he was a human, and humans were…well… Incredibly, absurdly fragile. The purple quartz looked at Steven wondering if he had the same worries as her. His eyes were conveying a lot of emotions. Surprise, awe, shock, apprehension, fear, anxiety.

Mmmm, Amethyst wasn’t alone in her doubts, then spitting this out wouldn’t be that hard even if it hurt Greg’s pride and resolution.

“Dude, look, this sounds all brave and heroic, but you’ve been there, remember? You’ve seen how strong we, gems, are. I mean, didn’t Lazuli almost kill you and break your leg when you joined us to stop her from stealing the ocean?”

The old man paled considerably and was unable to suppress a shudder. Oh yeah, that was terrifying. Not as much as watching Steven and Connie being attacked by the gem and almost drowned, but still it gave him a bit of…a violent perspective about how big and deep was the rift between humans and gems concerning strength and resilience.

“Ok, I get it, that was a very rocky battle” he wanted to laugh at his unintended pun if you get me, but the environment was too serious to delve into jokes “But I can be careful next time. Besides, Steven will need as much support as we can give him, and the first step for that is that he has gem and human sides of the family available. I used to be a bit far away from all these gem missions, but with everything we have experienced like that spaceship, Garnet and Pearl being gone, and maybe the possibility of being invaded by aliens again, we can’t just stay in different places. Sticking together is our best option”

Amethyst still didn’t like the idea. “Look, it’s not that I don’t get it. We don’t know if there are other gems stronger than the ones who defeated Garnet and Pearl. But you have to accept it, man, you don’t have what it takes to be part of this. No offense, Greg, but it’s for your good. I mean, what kind of weapon do you have to fight a gem, uh?”

Greg hated to admit it, but his former friend hit right on the nail, determination wouldn’t be enough to face a powerful gem, especially if she had an arsenal of alien weapons or an army of murderous gems too. However, wasn’t it worth the try, though? This was for Steven’s sake; a bit of faith could help here.

“I appreciate the concern, Amethyst, but I said once and I’ll do it again, I’m Steven’s father, it is my job to take care of him. Besides, if you’re worrying that much about me fighting a gem without a plan or a weapon, maybe you can train me then. I know it won’t be the same as training Steven, but at least it would add some help to the team, right?”

The silence was his only answer, that and the apprehension glued to the gem’s face. Steven placed a hand over her right arm with an encouraging smile. “It might work. The more the merrier”. His dad beamed at his words hoping against all odds that the purple quartz accepted his help, and yeah, with Steven saying yes, it would be 2 vs 1, but Greg would prefer it if everyone were on the same page about this issue.

The short Crystal Gem was at a crossroads. Fighting monsters and going on missions weren’t menial tasks, it wasn’t as simple as breathing or eating a snack either. Sure, she was laid-back and didn’t take care of many aspects of that seriously like Pearl or Garnet, but Amethyst was fully aware that once you are in the battle, you can’t turn back. Your life, the lives of the people you love would be in terrible danger if you tried to run away. Of course, she didn’t know anything about the war and what P, G, and Rose had to face before they found her in the Prime Kindergarten, but it was horrible. She saw it in the vulnerable expressions of her friends whenever they were too lost in their memories.

It’s not that Greg couldn’t be brave, but a bravado can do too little or nothing against monsters or gems who wanted to invade the Earth for whatever reason. Her brain was going to say all of that, to knock some sense into his head. Or she was going to until Steven’s sweet, hopeful and pleading eyes wormed into her heart to do otherwise as much as she couldn’t believe it.

“Fine. You can help in the missions, but just because I like you and we were friends, it doesn’t mean I will be soft in training.”

“I never said you had to be soft, but thanks for the trust”. Amethyst elongated her arm and punched in the shoulder amiably “Don’t make me regret it, dude.”

He laughed, happy that the first part of the conversation was taken care of without a hitch. Now, to the other one. “So, about therapy, I know this is something new for both of you and it is still too much to process, but it’s worth a shot if we want to do better. I won’t push you with encouraging words if you don’t feel like going or force you to embrace this and meeting the therapist, though what would be beneficial for everyone if we at least try together. Besides, I trust Priyanka even if I don’t know her that much, and if she says she has a great recommendation, then I’ll take it”

Steven raised his hand to make a question. “What do we have to do if we meet him?”

“That’s easy, Schtu-ball. When you are in front of your therapist, he will ask you some questions to have some context about your life, your family, how you live, and then it will go to how you feel about certain events or people, what bothers you or overwhelms you. That kind of stuff. The thing here is that you have to be honest with him, it’s not that you’ll be forced to talk, but opening up might help with the process”

“I don’t know, man. I mean, this is a stranger you’re talking about. Are you expecting us to spill the beans before him?”

“I get it, it can be scary. I’m afraid too. But a therapist’s job isn’t judging people but help them to overcome whatever problem they are going through. Come on, let’s give it a chance. For yourselves, for all of us, for the team. What could go wrong?”

While Amethyst skepticism was fighting Greg’s optimism, Steven was having a battle on his own, on his mind. Talking with someone was easy for him due to being an extrovert and friendly person, but the part of opening up, revealing your deepest worries and regrets, spilling every conflicting thought you have kept to yourself because it was the only way to not burst at the seams… It terrified him. Obviously, and typically from Steven, he didn’t show how much he was against that idea.

Well, it would be hypocritical to say that he didn’t have someone to rely on whenever he felt bad, angry, or scared. Connie was a good example, but a part of him felt remorseful to show her any vulnerable side of him that could let her down or make her doubt him. It was confusing, and now Steven would have to talk about unpleasant things with this therapist, with just the assurance from Dad that it would be alright and there wouldn’t be any judgments.

And even if he said yes, where would he start? From his feelings of inadequacy because he felt pursuing mom’s greatness was the same was counting the grains of sand of the whole beach? From the guilt of being there and mom being gone whenever the Gems wished she was still there?

From the anger and hurt for being scammed in the test, watching Amethyst tainting mom’s image by shapeshifting, Pearl yelling at him that he never met Rose, and any other instance where the Gems made him feel small or unnecessary? From the terror that haunted him in his dreams due to how dangerous and unpredictable gem stuff was for a kid like him?

What he didn’t want to think about was the possibility of being tasked to talk with Amethyst and Dad about those feelings and events? His soon-to-be therapist wouldn’t do that, right? Or at least, he wouldn’t tell him to do it right now once everything was put on the table. Some time to process all those emotions and peace and quiet would be enough if Steven were asked to have a heart-to-heart with his family despite the anxiety of being open to someone.

Amethyst was a different story or a very similar one. Therapy was a concept and profession foreign for gems, and coming from a gem who never knew how to be one, the purple quartz considered it something alien, no pun intended. She had only heard about that term in TV, social media, and Lil’ Butler, but beyond that, she was lost. Besides, what would that accomplish in the end? It’s not that Pearl and Garnet would come back if Amethyst went to therapy, right?

Very withing herself was also the fear of showing that stranger how she felt towards…well many things, people, all the world in general. And if she was pushed to it, the gem would have to quit. No way in hell was she going to talk about how she resented Pearl and her shitty ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude -especially that horrible day at the Prime Kindergarten- even when they had reconciled moments later. Or the time when Garnet and Pearl rubbed at her face how messy of a Crystal Gem she was, that she should act more mature. Or when they had to rig the test so Steven could ace it and feel better. Heck, what if she had to spill the fact that she tormented Greg by shapeshifting into Rose?!

The best strategy to not confess would be lying because she knew Greg would insist till she grew fed up and said yes. And there was no doubt that Steven would help him, though the short Crystal Gem wondered if he was as skeptical and nervous about this or just confused. Anyway, if she lied to that therapist and pretended to be ‘cured’ or whatever, this crap would be over. She was a gem, after all, a Crystal Gem, it was impossible to break her unless it were a fall from a cliff with pointing rocks at the bottom, though that mess was accidental. As long as Amethyst’s acting skills were well-polished and not rushed, no one would find out.

Meanwhile, Greg was waiting. If he had to be honest with himself, therapy was the equivalent of taking the bull by its horns, and it would be ten times harder if he had to face his decisions in parenting that came from sore spots because of his parents. The mere idea of having to recount every time their will and rules ruined a new opportunity for him to make friends, to try something new, to build his own identity in the way he liked, in having hobbies like music, was like pouring alcohol on a pulsing, bleeding wound.

But looking at an apprehensive Steven and Amethyst, considering the pros and cons of this idea, just showed him that some things needed to change if they wanted to be better. No one knew when those gems were going to appear again, and if they did while they were still grieving, not knowing where to start, everything would go to hell. Being in therapy could leave you exhausted and frustrated sometimes, but it was their best resource. It was better late than never.

“So, have you made a decision?” Greg asked patiently, glancing at his son and former friend.

Minutes passed and nothing. Maybe 1 or 2 hours would be enough for them to conclude, but then Amethyst raised a hand. “I’m in,” she said.

Truly surprising, if someone asked him, though the old man was happy about it too. Then Steven raised his hand as well even with more uncertainty than Amethyst. “Me too.”

Greg smiled. Things were going to get hard at first, but it was a start for their betterment.

/////////////////////////////

Meeting Mr. A -who called themselves Mr. and then any letter of the alphabet? Uh, anyway, meeting him, for Greg, was a very reassuring experience. The man wasn’t only a professional, but a well-known one. He had 7 PhDs and, according to Priyanka, the guy was always recommended. Apart from his studies and reputation, his calming, warmly polite personality gave him some peace of mind about the future. Even when Universe told him about gem stuff like Rose, the Crystal Gems, and what they used to do before Rose passed away, Mr. A just listened without an ounce of doubt or a sign that might tell Greg that the therapist wasn’t believing a single word of his.

He was more hopeful after the little conversation they had and more grateful than ever to Vidalia for recommending him to look for help in cases like this and Connie’s mother for giving the number and email address of Mr. A. Now, to the schedule and first appointments.

“Remember, guys,” Greg’s eyes were directed to both his son and the purple quartz who were occupying the co-pilot seat “the therapy schedule will be this way: every Thursday for you, Schtu-ball, every Friday for you, Amethyst, and every Saturday for me.”

His companions nodded stiffly, especially Steven. It would be his first time in therapy and he was anxious already, but he shouldn’t be, right? Dad said that the man was kind and if that was true, then there was nothing to worry about. Still, his mind was plagued with the thoughts of spiting every conflictive feeling and horrible event that happened to him which could end up disastrously.

Oh boy.

They finally arrived. It felt so surreal, almost as if he were dreaming or hallucinating. With some reluctance, the kid followed his father towards the building, Amethyst following them from behind just to make sure that guy was really easy to deceive. Greg knocked on the door after checking with the receptionist, his arm being grabbed by Steven with a bit too much strength, but said nothing.

“Just a second,” said a male voice, it sounded much older than Dad’s.

The door was opened. In front of them, there was a man whose appearance looked like 60 or 70 years old, his beard was a bit long and white, his head was bald except the sides, just like Dad, he wore circular, tiny glasses and a fluffy coat. Someone would have mistaken him as Santa Claus working as a therapist.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Universe” the man smiled kindly not only at the former rock star but also at Steven and Amethyst.

“The feeling is mutual, Mr. A. Let me introduce you to the family. This here is my son, Steven,” the kid waved his hand as a greeting “and this is Amethyst, a Crystal Gem and a friend of ours.”

“Sup,” she said nonchalantly.

“It’s a pleasure. So, today is Steven’s turn, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sir” he responded shyly.

“Don’t worry, young one. It might be scary for the first time, but with some effort, you’ll feel better” Mr. A extended a hand for a shake, the kid accepted the gesture to alleviate the tension on his body.

“It’s alright, Schtu-ball. Just an hour to get to know each other”. Getting to know each other, uh? Well, that’s kind of his specialty, so why not?

////////////////////////

Dad and Amethyst were waiting in the little living room of the building. He wondered what they were expecting on this first appointment of his: being more open with them? Not feeling so moody? Anything could be the answer.

“Steven, do you want a cookie?” Mr. A opened a bag full of cookies of every flavor, much to the boy’s pleasant surprise.

He smiled and nodded. Then when his eyes focused on a strawberry and a vanilla cookie, his hand hesitated. “It’s ok, you can take even more than one.” said the therapist, figuring out the reason of his hesitance.

He grabbed both of them and ate them at once, remembering when he tasted his favorite brand of ice cream. “These cookies aren’t Cookie Cat, but they get close to it”.

“Cookie Cat?” asked Mr. A with curiosity.

“Yeah, my favorite ice cream! Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet bought many packs of it because they stopped making it which was terrible!” the fondness at those memories then turned to sadness when the boy was reminded of what happened to his two guardians that fateful night.

“Is something wrong?” Mr. A grabbed the chair behind his desk and placed it in front of his little patient.

“I—Uummm” Steven then recalled his father’s words about being honest with his therapist because that way, progress was made.

The gentleman raised a hand in a signal of stop, his face serious but understanding. “You know, your father told me some things about gems, just the basic he knew for me to be prepared for anything. However, this seems to be a more delicate matter. Just so you know, Steven, here your voice will have ears that will listen to it, not judge it or shrug it off. I won’t push you if you’re not ready, but I will encourage you to get out of your comfort zone when it is necessary. For now, though, you can choose what you want to tell me. This is a ‘friendly chat’, after all. More pressing issues will come when it is time for them.”

He could choose. Where to start then? Maybe from square one, I mean, it might not be that difficult, right?

“Well… I’m Steven Universe. My dad is Greg Universe, my mom is Rose Quartz, and I am a Crystal Gem. What about you, Mr. A? Uh, is it ok if I ask you questions?”

His therapist smiled and responded “I’m just Mr. A. My profession is taking care of people’s feelings and mental wellbeing, giving them the tools to cope and grow adequately, and I love axolotls.”

At Steven’s confusion, the man sat up and signaled the kid to follow him to his desk. On the right side of it, there was a medium, rectangular aquarium stuck to the piece of furniture. Inside was a little, pink, and aquatic lizard-like animal. At the first sight, Steven made a face of awwww and cooed at the creature.

“It’s so cute! What’s its name?”

“Axie, just Axie. But sometimes I call him Little A.”

“Haha! He almost looks like Lion. Pink, with a sort of a mane, but he lives in the water.”

“So, you have a pink lion that you call Lion?”

“Yeah! He is magic! Oh, I don’t know if Dad told you about that, but he was mom’s, I guess. The Crystal Gems and I found him in the desert. Well, I found him first, and then he met them.”

“Your father said that the Gems were protectors of the Earth. Like heroes.”

“Yep, they are!” then his smile fell. “Well, Amethyst is a Crystal Gem, present tense. Pearl and Garnet, I don’t know how they are doing.”

“Is it ok to ask what happened to them? Some arguments between them or an accident?”

Steven hesitated again, debating if saying a half-truth or asking to say the answer later would be a good idea. Dad stated that opening up could make progress, and Mr. A explained that he could choose what to say to feel more comfortable.

“It’s difficult, I mean, I know Dad told you about gem stuff, but… Do you believe in aliens?”

“Some do, some don’t. I’m in the first category, so yes.”

The boy sighed and remained silent for some minutes. Seeing at Mr. A who didn’t show any impatience or annoyance at all, just calmness, the kid swallowed a bit of saliva while playing with his fingers before speaking.

“They were kidnapped…b-by aliens. The same kind of aliens they are. T-They fought, they tried. I-I thought they would win, b-but… And when Amethyst and I found out that—” some treachery tears were ready to escape from his eyes, but he willed himself to not cry, not now.

Then he heard someone sitting at his side, on the floor, and a pack of tissues extended to him.

With fatherly eyes, Mr. A invited him to sit at his side and waited for the kid to rub at the tears.

“It’s painful when you lose someone. It happens to anyone. You and me for example.” The air in the office was sad but not overwhelming. Steven wanted to say something encouraging or cheerful to make his therapist happy until the man stopped him gently. “It’s alright. I’ve got the time to process it and heal. Now it’s your turn. Sometimes, the clouds need to let go of the weight within them. That’s why rain exists. And it’s not as bad as it seems, even when no many people like a rainy day, but in the end, the clouds feel lighter. The grayness and the cold will not go away for a while, the hurt leaves a mark that will join you in every journey you take, but it’s important to feel it. Feel it like you feel the raindrops on your face, on your hands. It will take time, but it will be easier.”

Easier.

What a foreign word right now. The circumstances were so surreal. One day he was with all his family, training, laughing, having a good time, the next moment, the gems Lapis warned him about via wailing stone, came to the Earth and two of his three guardians are defeated and abducted.

He regretted not being there. His shield could’ve changed things, couldn’t it? But then Connie’s heartbroken words stabbed his heart. He didn’t want to leave anyone behind. Nor his home, or friends or Dad.

“It hurts” Steven mumbled while cleaning the tears on his eyes and his runny nose with the tissues.

“Mhm.”

“I don’t want to feel like that. I mean, Dad and Amethyst are dealing with a lot. I should help them. But I’m not even in the mood to help them.”

“So, are you pushing yourself?”

Steven nodded shyly. Mr. A hummed and they stayed silent for a while until the gentleman spoke again.

“Do you want to push yourself to help them, Steven? Your father and Amethyst?”

_‘Do I want to?’_ the kid wondered. Maybe yes, maybe no. What else was he going to do, though?

“If I don’t help, nothing is going to change.” He explained. A nagging, tiny voice in his head was screaming that it was more a distraction to not be haunted by what Garnet and Pearl might be going through.

“Why don’t help yourself then?”

The confusion was written all over the boy’s face as if that was such a revolutionary and bizarre idea.

Mr. A smiled kindly and went on. “You’re hurting, you’re tired, you don’t want your family to feel that way but your body and mind are drained. And still, you’re prioritizing their feelings, not yours. A change of pace, a Me-Time, can be good for a while.”

“Dad and Amethyst are suffering too.” Now he was having a sense of déjà vu on his first appointment with the therapist, unbelievable.

“I never said their problems and emotions weren’t important or even implied that. However, when we give too much to others, we forget sometimes to reciprocate that treatment to us.” Steven was a bit unsure about this so Mr. A explained to him “Let’s just say you meet a friend who has had a pretty unlucky day, you are worried and ask them if something is wrong. What would you tell them if they responded with ‘It’s not a big deal’ or ‘It doesn’t even matter. It’s silly anyway’?”

“I would say that if it’s hurting them, then it’s not silly. That their problems shouldn’t be treated like that. They matter, feelings, issues, all of them.”

“Exactly. Steven, I want you to always remember, no matter how much time passes, that the tragedy and pain you’re going through matter. You’re important not only to your family and friends but also to yourself. You are a person, and whether you feel sad or angry or scared for something little or big, those emotions are valid and should be respected. Of course, I’m not telling you this so you stop focusing on supporting your family, but you’re a child. A kid must have child responsibilities, not adult ones. When family members support each other, they need to be aware of the kind of duties they have according to their age and experience. And most importantly, don’t downplay your emotions. Everyone has different ways to express how they tackle certain situations, sometimes there is maturity, other times it’s messy, and there are moments when you can’t feel anything, but no one is more important or valid than the other one.”

“But wouldn’t it be selfish to say that I want some help when everyone is down over something?”

“Selfishness is always portrayed as black-and-white, but you can be selfish and not hurt people at the same time. That’s what I call healthy selfishness.”

“And if it still makes others upset?”

“Feelings are such complex machinery, Steven. One, two, many events can overwhelm us so much that we can’t regulate our emotions appropriately which leads us to snap or demand attention and gentleness from the people we trust, even when they also need the same consideration. Besides, only you are responsible of your feelings and the way you cope whenever a stressful situation occurs. So, if you accidentally offend people with your words or actions because you felt frustrated after a bad day or a failed project, then what you should do is acknowledge the wrongdoing, apologize and learn from the mistake so it never happens again. But if someone unconsciously or intentionally pours all their conflicts on you, feeling entitled to the idea of you being their problem-solver, then it’s them who should apologize, because they wanted that responsibility to be handled by you instead of dealing with it themselves.”

Steven analyzed those words as deeply as his childish mind could. The last sentences hurt to be repeated mentally because in a sense they were true, even when they also sounded like an accusation. An accusation against who? Dad and Amethyst? Not really. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst? Well, the hybrid still hasn’t told the important stuff to his therapist, so that conclusion wasn’t possible. On the other hand, the more he delved into the conversation, the more he was reminded of the pressure the Gems were putting on him. Being as strong as mom, developing his powers, not showing weakness. A lot of expectations.

He wanted to make them proud of him because he owed them. Steven did owe them, right? Or was that what his guilt and self-loathing were telling him? What he was being responsible for? His feelings or the others’? The kid wanted to help, and now he was given the task to just help himself, take care of himself, and leaving the rest to Dad and Amethyst.

But if he asked to assist them, would that ruin his homework? Would he go back to the beginning if he helped everyone and forget about himself for just a second?

“Can I ask a question?”

“Sure.”

“What if I want to help my dad or Amethyst? Or someone else? Would that be wrong?”

Mr. A shook his head in negative. “Not really. If that’s what you want, you can help, but the adults in your family, that is Greg and Amethyst, should be aware that their issues can be too much and hurt you. Putting a limit in your interventions is their duty, not because they don’t appreciate the support or believe in you, but because it’s up to both to figure out a way to solve whatever conflict they are facing. Also, as your guardians, being precise and concise about the rules and restrictions at home is a must so there are stability and security in your life. Without them, a child’s lifestyle can become chaotic which will be disastrous in the long term, especially in the adulthood of that child.”

Steven let out a huge puff of air. Too much information for one appointment.

“It will be a long week for me to take care of all of that.”

“It’s alright. Remember this is your first day, there is no rush to learn and unlearn, just process it. What if I give you a good tool so you can put your feeling and thoughts in order? As an empty canvas to express yourself.”

The hybrid smiled a bit. Art was fun, and it would help him to relax. Mr. A opened a cabinet of his desk, his hand holding a little notebook with a box of colors, a pencil, and an eraser.

“Here, Steven, for you.” The boy received the gifts with a bigger smile now. The cookies at the start of the session were excellent, but this was perfect! His artistic diary!

“Thank you.”

“Of course, no problem. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by a situation or want to write about something that interests you and/or it’s important to you, this little friend will be there. Don’t hesitate on expressing whatever came to your head. Feel it and then let it go to the notebook.”

The rest of the appointment was much lighter after that conversation and the gift-delivering. Steven and Mr. A played the 20-questions game to get to know each other more which was very entertaining for the hybrid boy. He learned that his therapist was very popular and respected in his times as a teacher, because yeah, he was one as Steven asked him what other things he could do until he decided to study psychology. There was also certain fondness and exasperation in his voice when Mr. A was questioned about what geometrical shapes he liked the most and he just said ‘Triangles can be hard to handle, sometimes’. The only conclusion he could get from that sentence was some kind of problem his therapist had in his past.

All in all, this first appointment wasn’t the dreadful experience he had imagined it would be. And yeah, there would be more sessions that might be hard because honesty was important to progress, but for now, Mr. A’s amiability filled him with more hopes to see the positive in things again.

He wondered how the others may do with their sessions.

////////////////////////

It was Friday ergo Amethyst’s turn. Meh, this was going to be easy, as long as she didn’t screw up in her acting, of course.

When Steven got out of the office that Thursday, his demeanor looked a bit better and he was even given some gifts he showed her and Greg. That was a pro, the purple quartz guessed. Maybe if she played her cards right, she could get something good too. The most surprising thing is that her friend started using the notebook Mr. A offered him, saying that it was a way to express himself any time he needed it.

While Greg grinned for that accomplishment, Amethyst contemplated on the many subjects Steven talked about or was asked about to spill in front of that man to have made that step. Well, that was Steven’s turn, of course, it was different than her soon-to-be reunion with the therapist. Still, her choice was made. She just had to pretend.

Because, for real, showing herself in all her not-so-glamorous colors was like opening a festering wound, which in her opinion was a big no. Greg’s assurance of not being judged, however, made her doubt a bit about this plan, and let’s not mention how uncomfortable it would be if Greg and Steven found out she was lying to Mr. A. They would be so disappointed.

Again, the same judgmental glares and harsh admonishments from Garnet and Pearl, especially the second one, tormented her mind, but she pushed them with enough strength to not appear bothered by them. Fake it till you make it. The short Crystal Gem needed to be strong, so she was going to be that even if she had to resort to lies.

“Hello, Amethyst. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Again, Doc. Again.” she reminded him with a shrug. She imagined a scandalized Pearl, scolding her for her lack of manners which made her laugh a bit, but it was a joyless chuckle.

The therapist signaled her to sit in any place she wanted. The gem chose the sofa, it looked comfy so she laid there as if it were her couch or bed.

“Comfortable?” Mr. A asked.

“Yep, my butt feels like it’s kissing the clouds or something.”

The man laughed, not annoyed or disgusted at her choice of language, and sat on the carpet between the sofa and the desk.

“Aren’t you going to sit on a chair?” Amethyst inquired, not that it mattered to her.

“As you said ‘My butt feels like it’s kissing the clouds or something’. So, no. Besides, this rug is comfier.”

The gem’s eyes widened at the total lack of etiquette of the human. Not that she knew if a therapist should have some sort of etiquette, but according to Greg, their job was serious. Instead of being like a fish out of the water, with its eyes and mouth forever opened, Amethyst just chortled with more energy and this time, a bit of mirth.

“Wow, dude. You’ve already done it! First time talking to each other and I already like you! If Pearl were you, she would’ve kicked me out of this place, saying a bunch of crap about being all manner-ish and that she wasn’t going to stand messy people. He, yeah, she used to be like that.”

“Organized?”

“Tight as a leash, dude. If you watched our rooms at the Temple, you would know what I’m talking about. Pearl is Ms. Perfect after all. Oh yeah! I forgot! You don’t know much of gem stuff, don’t cha?”

“Mr. Universe told me about you guys, the Crystal Gems, and your missions. Also, about Rose, your late leader.”

“Mmmm, yeah, ok, but he never mentioned the Temple. That is our home. It’s part of the Beach House too.”

“It sounds interesting. May I ask how the Temple and the rooms work?”

This was a golden opportunity. If she could just divert his attention from the serious topics and keep it all chill and easy, the session would be over in no time. So, that’s what she did. Amethyst explained to him in her way how all the gems -even Rose in the past and now Steven- could enter their rooms, designed by the Temple following their personalities and abilities. The purple quartz, however, didn’t mention the Burning Room, believing that could attract too much attention of the human.

She went on and on, describing Garnet’s room where she meditated whenever the fusion wanted, then hers and Pearl which took more time, but Mr. A didn’t mind at all which gave Amethyst more confidence in her plan. That was until his questions started.

“Now I see where the difference between you and Pearl comes from, let me tell you. You are like chaos and logos, each one hand on hand”

“Logwhat?”

“Logos. It means in Latin ‘reason’, ‘order’ or ‘logic’. You’ve been very detailed about that trait of hers. How orderly and precise she was in everything she did.”

“Yep, and it was annoying. You had to see it, dude. If I made a mistake or spoke with some swears or ‘vulgarities’ as she called it, she would rub it in my face! As if that was getting her oh-so-glorious pedestal dirty. Tch. She didn’t know how to be fun.”

“And what did both of you consider fun?”

“She was like an upside-down case, man! Boring for her was the most radical and amazing thing, like putting stuff in their places, checkers, chess, heck, even folding the clothes right. I prefer to be more casual, going with the flow, ya know? No rules, just living the moment. Why ruining it with ‘You can’t do that’ or ‘You can only do that’?”

“My rule is that there shouldn’t be any rules. That’s your mantra, right?”

“Haha, yeah! Well said, dude! Yeah… Gosh, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m missing her and Garnet rubbing everything on my face, especially Pearl. It was infuriating, but at least I could tease her and get some laughs.”

“My condolences. Just so you know, Steven told me about what happened to them. It must be hard.”

Ah, so Ste-man told him about that night. Well, in one way or another the question of what happened to them would have come out, so it wasn’t so much of a big deal.

“It can’t be helped. I don’t know how strong the enemy was, I didn’t see them fight, but they are bad news because… Because they might appear from nowhere and we need to be prepared. Wanna know something funny? If Pearl, Garnet, and I had become into Alexandrite, things would’ve been different.”

“Alexandrite?”

“Yeah! Our fusion! Oh, of course, you are new to gem stuff. Ok, so, we gems have a lot of powers and one of them is fusing. We dance first and then our bodies shine and merge, and bam! We transform into a new kind of gem. One time, Steven wanted us to be Opal, that’s me and Pearl fused by the way, but we weren’t in the mood.”

“Not even to humor him?”

“Not even for that. I mean, you have to put up with her complaints and her scolding you for being rash and abrasive when dancing. Can you believe it? Even in that, she wanted perfection.”

“It seems that both of you have different ways to attain control.”

“You mean to control each other?”

“Not really. Was she ever controlling to you or anyone of the family?”

“That she was a neat-freak, yep, she was. A control-freak? You can say that even. But it was more about order, rules. Being the responsible gem. That’s why I said she was tight as a leash, man. If we didn’t follow the rules, she would freak out.”

“Kind of like a strict mom.”

“Oh yeah! She was motherly too! Haha. I remember when we first met, she used to take care of me like Rose and Garnet, but in her way. We were very close. But… Well, Rose was there and it was easier. We had a guide. Then Rose was gone and things just…changed.”

_‘And to make it worse, now Pearl is gone.’_

An alarm blared inside Amethyst’s head when she felt the first tears gathering at her eyes. She was going to rid of them but glanced for a second at Mr. A who unexpectedly handed her a tissue from a box, the same one he offered to Steven.

The short Crystal Gem hesitated, musing what went through the therapist’s mind to guess the crying time would come for a tissue to be needed. And yeah, right now, her plan to be all nonchalant and apathetic wasn’t working that much. She was showing weakness. She was crying, dammit!

Mr. A just placed the box at her side, not a single word coming out from his mouth. Still, on his eyes, sympathy and comprehension were written. Not pushing or expecting a response from Amethyst, but inviting her to open up at her terms.

_‘Yeeeesh, is this how therapy works?’_ If that was true, then in no time she would spill the beans. Great, just great. She didn’t know how much she had until the session was over, but the quartz felt drained already. Tired, nervous, ready for the therapist to ask her another question or say some wise crap like Garnet. Anything, but silence remained.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The clicking sound of the clock was getting on her nerves already. Would it be ok if she said she didn’t want to be in this place anymore?

“Ugh! Come on!” the tissue box fell from the sofa much to her annoyance; Mr. A just grabbed it and placed it on his desk. “Aren’t you going to bombard me with more questions?”

“Did you feel I did that to you?”

“Not really. We had a chit chat, but isn’t that your job, though?”

“My job is to take care of people’s feelings and mental health and giving them tools and options to cope with the challenges of life. Asking questions is just a little part of it, not the whole.”

“To have context I guess.”

“Yeah, to have context. But also, to help others to come out of their comfort zone when it is necessary. Right now, we are in a ‘chit chat’ session.”

“It doesn’t feel like that to me. I mean, yes, we are talking to each other and we will talk to each other the next week, and the week after that, and the week after those two, but it will be hard because—Because there are things I haven’t moved on of! There it goes! There are things I did, things people did to me, things that I can’t understand. It’s a lot.”

“It is by the tone of your voice, but the good news is that here you will have a guideline to help you feel and do better.”

“You say that, but once I spit it all out, you wish you hadn’t asked.”

“I will have my opinions and reach my conclusion, it’s true, but this is a free-judgment place.”

“Oh yeah? So, you’re going to sugarcoat everything?”

“I will be honest but not in a judgmental way, but to be helpful and advise you when the time comes. Whether you have made mistakes or feel lost or insecure, what matters is that here things will be put on the table without going off-topic, euphemisms, or guilt-tripping. Those elements don’t sum to the progress you will make, but minimize them.”

“Alright, if honesty is what you want, then I’ll be clear with ya. I don’t believe in this therapy stuff. I don’t know how it can help us yet, I barely hear some things about it from TV shows. Besides, no offense, dude, but you’re a stranger. Telling everything that is wrong with me, opening up about feelings, and so on with a stranger is just so risky, fast, too fast. Sure, you say ‘No judgments, I just want to help’, but there is stuff too messed up to be fixed.”

“Partially, you’re right, we are starting to get to know each other. I won’t ask you to blindly trust me, Amethyst. If you have your reservations, that’s fine. But you will never know what is on the unknown if you don’t investigate, right? Besides, all my clients are allowed to put a stop when things got too heavy or personal. Overstepping is a mistake everyone does, including me. So, if you feel I am pushing your boundaries a bit too much without noticing, just make me know about it, ok? This is your journey of healing, after all, you decide the pace.”

Amethyst was speechless. At first, she was planning on lying to skip every bothersome step until Greg and Steven were convinced that she was fixed or whatever, but now, her scheme was totally in disarray, because if she was permitted to put some boundaries and choose what to talk about, then what was the point in all of this? But still, the future didn’t look so promising if she was expected to confess the worst of her. What she deemed as the worst.

Maybe getting that doubt out of her mind could help her in being sure if Greg’s idea would a good one in a long term. “Ok, so, let’s just say I want to talk about something pretty fucked up that happened in the heat of the moment, but I’m a coward to do it because I don’t want to see your reaction. What will happen then?”

“My reactions can vary depending on the experiences, but that I’m going to fall apart or freak out, no. That will not happen. As long as you’re truly ready to face the next step to overcome the challenges and feelings on every event that has left a mark on you, then I will listen from a to z. But this is something we can delve on in the future, today is just ‘chit chat’ territory.”

Uh, ok, if that’s how he put it, then making a schedule for once wouldn’t be that bad, right?

//////////////////////////

Greg, as much as it surprised him, wasn’t the most nervous of the three for his first appointment. Not that he ignored what problems he had to face to be and do better, but the fact that he was doing this to help his son and Amethyst was a good incentive to make an example.

If the first step was starting to be more present in Steven’s life, especially on his missions, battling gem monsters and preventing Schtu-ball to get hurt, then the second one would be having the mental and emotional resolution every parent should have to raise their children correctly. Whether there was magic or aliens in the middle or not.

The door of the office opened. This time, no one was waiting for him in the little living room of the building. Greg had asked Amethyst to take care of Steven while he was in his first session. Mr. A greeted him with a smile and let him enter and sit wherever he wanted.

“I see that you are very confident about this, Mr. Universe.”

“Please, call me Greg, Mr. A. Mr. Universe makes me feel old. Hehe. Also, it’s not much about confidence, but I want to be as prepared as I can if something happens. That’s what parents do every day, right?”

“The ideal sort of thing, if you ask me. But yes, every parent wants the best for their children.”

“That’s the topic I want to talk about. I mean, I know first we need to get to know each other, but maybe I can put some serious stuff I want to explore and add things from my life years ago. Would that sound good?”

“It is a good point. And as long as you are ok with it, I will be happy to help.” A determined nod from Greg was response enough.

During 20 minutes, Universe gave a short but well-detailed summary about his life before having Steven, meeting Rose and the Gems, and going to Beach City. Some aspects were easier to deal with and he left the worst and most difficult memories for future appointments. The main theme right now was the contrast between his upbringing and Steven’s and his worries about how to protect him from new threats.

As if watching Steven almost die inside that spaceship Pearl had built with some parts of the van wasn’t stressful and heart-attack-inducing enough, but hey! That’s why therapy was put on the table.

“There was one time when Rose told me how awed she was at humans growing up. They change their identities, they can reinvent themselves all the time they want, they don’t have to stay put because of expectations. We can just choose and move on. I wished my parents were like that, though. Sure, they gave me what any kid needed: food, clothes, a roof, school, medicine. But when it comes to letting me choose what I wanted like a career or a hobby, they never approved. It was a prison disguised as a home.”

“Many children have to endure the overbearing personalities of their parents whether that comes from trauma, tradition, or any other source. Being strict is not extreme in parenting as being overcontrolling or too permissive, but it’s very important to reach a balance to let both freedom and restrictions coexist in harmony.”

“I would’ve done that, but I was barely functioning back then. I was a young adult trying to survive every day, with my van, my music, and Marty as my manager until I yelled at him to leave. Then I met Rose. You know, she was just like me, I could feel it. She never told me about her family, her home, or why she never wanted to come back, but there was a vibe in her that was pretty obvious. She was stuck as much as me. Trying to escape from things that were out of her control or choices. One time, we were talking and she had this face, the face of someone who wanted to spill everything. Of course, I was willing to listen, but I didn’t want to push her. Whatever she was hiding it must have been painful.”

“I see a pattern here; I’m not going to lie. That’s why you were adamant in giving Steven a more open upbringing, right?” Greg nodded. “Many parents who were raised in a toxic and harsh environment, perpetuate those cycles that made their lives miserable. It can be by favoritism if the adult was neglected while the sibling was the favorite; manipulation if there were cases, where the feelings of the adult were used against them; violence, which is the most common example. There is a long list of that. You have broken that cycle by giving your child the freedom that was denied to you. But don’t go to extremes. Creating rules that are fair and reasonable for all the family isn’t the same as breathing on the neck of everyone to attain control.”

“You’re right. I have started living with my son and Amethyst and decided to be part of the missions the Crystal Gems used to have. I know I’m not an expert, but learning with Steven, Amethyst and through experiences can help me to ‘catch up’ in all this gem lore.”

“That it will be a very exciting journey, there is no doubt about it. Understanding the world of a kid, the inner circles of friends and confidants, how problems are solved, or how conflicts start, the copying mechanisms to overcome complex feelings and trauma, is a challenge for parents and people who become legal guardians for the orphaned. Sometimes it’s easier, other times it’s exhausting, and there will be flaws in planning and mistakes made because that’s humanity for you.” Both men chuckled at that. “What matters, though, is that parents try hard to comprehend how a child feels and why they act certain ways not to admonish them, but to help them if their behavior is hurtful and unhealthy.”

“Well, if that so, then I’m progressing in prevent any problems for Steven.”

Again, Greg reminded himself to find a way to thank both Vidalia and Priyanka for their help to aid his family in recovering after the tragedy. This won’t be so hard in the end; he could feel it.

////////////////////////////

Sunday came in a flash. Things were still a bit tense in the Beach House, but the air was cleaner.

The three remaining members of the family were sharing a delicious meal courtesy of Mr. Universe: rice with meatballs covered in red sauce and parmesan cheese. Good that Pearl had stored enough ingredients to make that dinner or else they would have had to order pizza. Though, the ones sold at the Stew Fish Pizza restaurant were tasty.

Steven was drawing a bit on his artistic diary, careful of not tainting it with some bits of his dinner. The pictures were of him, Dad, Amethyst, and Lion. Above them was a very tiny depiction of a planet; an arrow pointed at it with some sentences that said: _‘Pearl and Garnet are still there. Wonder if they have escaped or if they are hiding.’_

Whether he was right on the first one of the second one, the hybrid boy still missed them. He wished he had future vision like Garnet to guess when they were going to return, even when -according to the fusion- her main ability just showed her a sea of possibilities. However, that sounded much more optimistic than imagining what they might be going through at this moment.

The boy was this close to grab his fork and eat another meatball when the ground shook violently in an instant, followed by the sound of an explosion.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Amethyst yelled. Her food splattered on the floor because of the sudden shaking. The purple gem watched from one of the windows; there was a huge crater some meters away from the Beach House. A dense pillar of smoke was coming out of it.

Without saying anything, the short Crystal Gem went to inspect what was inside the crater. Greg ran behind her, holding a pan in case fighting was necessary. Steven was the last one to follow them, still shocked due to the event.

Amethyst transformed into Purple Puma, advancing cautiously while summoning her whip. The smoke was dispersing in the air, but still, the scenery wasn’t rid of it for the gem to discover what caused the explosion. However, she didn’t need to, because a blue hand appeared from the depths, and seconds later, half the body of a familiar waterbending gem.

“No way.” Whispered Steven, more shocked and confused than ever. “LAPIS?!”


End file.
